Nico di Angelo & the Great Prophecy: The Oracle's Chest
by Fantasila
Summary: When the Keys of Hades were stolen, Kronos, in an act of desperation, used dark magic to make a copy...only that copy was faulty. Now, it has unintentionally released every monster in the underworld and the Olympians are calling upon their former heroes. Most of which are grown, have their own families, scattered, and not exactly eager to return to taking orders from the gods.
1. Ashes

Disclaimer: I do not own _Percy__ Jackson and the Olympians._

_This is just an idea I've had in my head for some time now and I hope you all like it._

* * *

Ashes…

'Ashes' was a good word to describe what was left of a very small, rural town in upper Maine.

The sky was filled with thick heavy clouds the color of charcoal and the only sounds that could be heard were the occasional low rumble of thunder and the crackling of the fires that still danced across fallen buildings and houses.

The roads were empty, littered only with the remains of battered objects and tattered fabric.

There were no cars, no people, and not one sign of life.

Everything was gone.

Not one person could have predicted what would happen that day, what would happen to the things and to those that they loved. Nobody knew that after this day there would be nothing to remember of the peaceful place they called home.

Nothing to remember at all…

As the first drops of rain fell, adding to the air of misery, a being emerged out of a shadow cast across the ground by the flickering flames. If a person were around to see them, they would barely be able to make out the form of a man. He was tall, strong, slender…and dark. That much was obvious from the black robes that adorned him and the mysterious power that rolled off him in waves.

He barely paid any mind to the storm that was starting above him and the torrent of rain that was about to fall. The only thing that could hold his attention at the moment was the horrible sight before him. The man started walking through the ruins of the town, taking in just how bad this calamity was. He scanned the remains of buildings, belongings, and the occasional corpse that would normally be mistaken for something other than a person.

The man closed his eyes and messaged his temples, groaning slightly. Though he saw things similar to this almost every day of his existence, it didn't make this one very easy to stomach. He usually felt nothing toward scenes such these, and probably wouldn't have if he didn't come across a certain sight.

There just a few feet to his left, lay two figures under what remained of their supposed home. One was of a young woman and the other was a young boy. Both were covered in blood and dirt and their clothes were burned and torn. The woman's body was slightly on top of the boy's, evidence that she had tried protecting him.

Then suddenly, he felt as though ice filled up inside of him when he realized why they had caught his attention: they somewhat reminded him of the bond that his last two half-blood children had. Though that joke of an oath had been annulled, he hadn't sired any heroes. He simply didn't have time, and he was content with the two he had. Even though his daughter had died before the annulment, his son kept him busy enough.

And then he lost contact with the boy.

After that, simply bringing up his children's names was enough to ignite the Lord of the Underworld's rage.

Seeing those two innocent people lying there dead was no exception.

Hades continued walking, quickening his pace and trying to put out the emotions that were rising up inside him. He kept going until he reached the outer edge of the town, which was also the location of the one structure that was still definable.

An old lighthouse was the only thing that remained standing.

The only thing that showed this now wasteland had once been inhabited.

Hades leaned against the stone cylinder, patiently waiting for two certain people to show up.

Just as the rain began to fall heavily, he felt their presences.

"You better have a good reason for calling us out here."

"Yes, what could possibly be so important that we need to be here in the middle of the night in this freezing rain?"

Hades turned around and glared at his two younger brothers, "Only you two would be stupid enough to appear with your backs to the very reason I called you."

Zeus and Poseidon hesitantly turned around. The moment they lay eyes on the ravaged land, time might as well have stopped.

All they could do was stare at the ghastly sight.

They thought this was problem would easily be dealt with, that there was nothing to worry about.

But now…

"I told you," Hades snarled.

Zeus was able to tear his gaze away from the scene before him long enough to look over his shoulder and cast a scowl in the dark god's direction, "Hades, don't –"

"I told you so many times, but you never listened to me!" Hades advanced toward the King of the Gods, "And no matter how many times I warned you, you just didn't care! You, the both of you, thought that this was no cause for concern, that it would pass, that it was nothing!" He stopped only a few inches in front of his brother, "Can you say that it's **nothing, now?**"

"Brother, please," Poseidon had now turned his attention to Hades, "is there any way we can –"

"Quiet," he snapped. "**Both** of you knew what happened, and we could have dealt with it immediately and have finished off these disgusting creatures when we had the chance!"

Zeus' glare hardened, "And how do you know they'll keep getting stronger? What makes you think this is something for all of us to put most of our time and energy into?"

Hades stared at his youngest brother, his eyes smoldering. His breaths became more rapid and his hands clenched into fists. He took a deep breath and began stalking back into the destroyed town.

"Hades?" Poseidon watched his brother's retreating figure with confusion.

"Come on," the Lord of the Underworld said without looking back, "there's something I want you to see."

The sea and sky gods exchanged glances before reluctantly following Hades. The further they went into the burning streets, the more they looked down. Neither wanted to see what their carelessness and ignorance had caused, even though the result was all around them.

They kept following Hades, stepping over debris and concentrating on their powers keep themselves dry from the pounding rain. Finally, their dark brother stopped and pointed at…something.

"You see them?" Hades' voice was strained with anger. He had brought them to the two youths he'd seen earlier, determined to get his point through. Zeus' eyes widened slightly and Poseidon turned his head away from the gruesome spectacle.

Hades aimed his finger at the girl, "That is Madison Snyder, she was 22. Madison here just finished her third year of college, she was majoring in astronomy. Her brother over there, Noah, **would** be starting high school in the fall. Unfortunately, he isn't."

Zeus was glaring at Hades, almost like he was outraged that his brother was using mortals to make a point.

"You think that two mortals are enough to change my mind?"

Poseidon turned to Zeus, "Brother, maybe we should reconsider –"

"Mortals are only good for a few things, most of which only benefit us so much." Zeus continued as though Poseidon had said nothing, "Why should we waste our time for them?"

"Let me try getting this through your thick skull from a different perspective," Hades gritted his teeth and scowled, "These monsters will start off with very small towns like this and destroy them. When they run out of small ones they'll move to bigger ones. And they'll just keep terminating bigger and bigger cities until they eliminate the largest cities in the world. And I'm not just talking about the capitols of small states and such, but my Las Vegas, Poseidon's Miami, and your precious New York City! It's only a matter of time before they fell confident enough to take on the best civilization in the world: Mount Olympus."

Hades let that sink in. Something in Zeus' demeanor seemed to change after his speech, it seemed tense, almost worried.

Neither of the above world gods said anything for the longest time. They just stood there until Zeus finally broke the silence.

"I will…hold a meeting to further discuss this issue in a few days. I expect you two to be there," and with that, Zeus dissolved into the air.

* * *

"_You won't find a solution by saying there is no problem." - William Rotsler_

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_This is my second story that has absolutely no relation to the first, if you like it I'm glad. If you don't, oh well. Please review if you like. _

_~Fantasila~_


	2. Change

Disclaimer: I do not own _Percy Jackson and the Olympians_.

_I want to thank everyone who read this because you took the time to do so._

_A special thanks to DangerIsNotMyMiddleName, Strider101, Cryanth, Mythomagic-Champion, and all the guest users for being the first people to review._

_Now, here is Chapter Two._

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Hades messaged his temples and resisted the urge to scream. The cacophony of voices was becoming too much to handle.

Sure, he'd predicted that everyone would react this way, but never at this magnitude.

Moments ago, Zeus had announced that the rumors about the monster outbreak were true **and** that they were going to do something about it. The last part caused a lot of gods to find the need to express their opinions in an extremely loud manner.

No god was eager or willing to go out and fight something they once assumed was a small problem, even though it had escalated into something much worse.

"I still don't see why this is such a big problem," Aphrodite continued to apply the top coat of her nail polish, "maybe there are a few more monsters than we thought, so what?"

"Yeah," Ares mumbled, "why should we have to fix this so called problem when there isn't problem?"

Athena rolled her eyes, "There are a lot more than a _few_ extra monsters, making this a **very serious** problem."

"That still doesn't explain why we should do something," Dionysus didn't even bother looking up from his wine magazine.

This started up a brand new round of arguing, a round that was much louder than the first. Hades rolled his eyes, fed up with everyone's idiocy. He couldn't see why everyone was making such a big deal out of this. Then again, those up on Olympus weren't used to getting off their backsides to actually do something important.

Zeus called a 15 minute recess sometime into the argument, probably tired of the whole charade himself. Some gods stayed in the throne room, others left, most likely to express their opinions amongst themselves in a less tense environment.

Hades left as well, having found that staying where he was would become much too suffocating. He walked, somewhat unsteadily, in the direction of the gardens, the one place he was sure to find solitude. A bit of alone time, though sleep would be better, would do him some good.

He sat down on one of the many stone benches situated around the grounds and sighed heavily, feeling more tired than ever.

All the commotion in his domain had taken a physical toll on him. The disruption in the Underworld regarding the monster outbreak had practically dumped a new workload upon him, causing Hades to be exhausted most of the time. However, that wasn't the main cause of his decline in health.

When that blasted key unleashed all the creatures, the force from the rush of all of them scrambling out of the Underworld depths was so great, that it shattered Hades mental balance and his body went into shock. He fell into a coma like state for nearly two weeks, and even after waking up was still weak and could use his powers limitedly. He would need a lot of time to rest to get back to full strength.

Unfortunately, Hades didn't have that luxury. The Underworld desperately needed stability, and its king was the only one who could restore it. He had immediately set to work on returning as much order to his domain as possible. It had drained his power (still was) to the point where he had to draw some of his energy from his immortal essence just to get through his tasks.

As a result, he now literally felt like death most of the time.

And, to add to his problems, he neglecting to give himself enough to recover from his comatose condition was beginning to take its toll. Hades had begun to suffer from headaches, loss of appetite and stomachaches (both of which he'd never experienced before), fevers, and, the most embarrassing of all, falling asleep without being aware that he had dozed off until _after_ someone woke him up.

He heaved a great sigh and leaned against the tree that was behind the bench. Maybe he could catch a few minutes of sleep before going back to that hectic conference. Hades felt himself begin to relax and his eyes began to close when –

"Hades, what are you doing in my gardens?"

The Lord of the Underworld glanced up and bit back a groan when he saw Demeter standing directly in front of him. If there was one person he didn't want to talk to right now, it was her. Though they had gotten onto much better terms, things weren't perfect.

"If I remember correctly, these gardens are open to everyone, Demeter." Hades stood up, towering over his sister with his impressive height, and looked at her with narrowed eyes, "And as for why I'm here, I don't have to explain myself to you."

Demeter lifted one eyebrow and placed her hands on her hips, "Hades, are you alright, you look awful."

The dark god was caught off guard by her question, but quickly regained his composure. He scowled and crossed his arms over his chest, "Just peachy. Why do you ask?"

"You look sick –"

"Well, I'm not."

"It appeared as if you were about to pass out a moment ago."

"I didn't."

"You didn't eat much of the dinner Hestia prepared."

"So?"

Demeter exhaled and gave the dark god a look that was almost sad, "Brother, Persephone told me about everything you are going through…"

Hades expression softened and he broke eye contact with the nature goddess. He was quiet for a few moments before moaning and running a hand through his hair, "Can anyone I know keep a secret?"

His sister chuckled and sat down on the bench that Hades had previously occupied. Demeter looked up at her brother and patted the spot next to her, motioning for him to sit down. He did so and relaxed a bit, though he knew that his sister would soon start up a conversation.

"My daughter mentioned that you weren't getting much sleep, is that true?"

Hades gave her a skeptical look, "Why do you care?"

Demeter glared at him, "Okay, look, I'm trying to be civil here; so enough with all the snappy comments!"

"Sorry…"

The Goddess of the Harvest calmed down and began to redo her braided hair, "I care because no one should go through what you're experiencing alone. It all sounds terrible, so if you ever need to vent or simply want to talk about it, you can come to me from here on out."

The dark god blinked. He was genuinely touched that Demeter would offer to do something like this, no one ever had before…

She smirked, pleased that she had unintentionally dazed Hades: her brother the stiff who rarely ever showed emotion. Demeter stood, pulling him up with her, "Come on, we should head back to the throne room. The conference is going to start soon."

As the pair walked back, the nature goddess looked the death god up and down. Hades caught her staring at him and quirked his brow up.

"What?"

Demeter narrowed her eyes, "You do remember to eat down there, don't you?"

Hades swallowed, worried about where this conversation was going, "Uh, why?"

"You look a bit thin. I mean, you've always been slender, but now it almost looks like you're starving yourself."

"Well…I will skip a few meals in order to get work done…and sometimes I'll forget if I get too busy…"

He stopped because he didn't like the way Demeter was looking at him; it was almost like she was having a mental fit. It was the same look their mother gave him whenever they argued about him taking some vacation time.

Demeter pursed her lips, "Persephone was right, you're much worse off than we thought." She then smirked and began to walk ahead of Hades, "It looks like the both of us have a lot of work to do."

The Lord of the Underworld's face twisted into confusion, "Excuse me?" _What is this woman talking about?_

His sister looked back at him, "Did I forget to mention that?" Hades nodded, and Demeter clasped her hands together, smiling, "Well, my daughter and I thought it would be a good idea if we did everything we can to help you when you need it the most, so we've come up with lots of great ideas that will take a load off your shoulders!"

He sighed and messaged his forehead, "Demeter, that really isn't –"

"Oh, come now. You shouldn't feel the need to protest, this will be fun!" Her smile grew wider and her eyes sparkled at the prospect of someone new to dote on, "Besides, you really do need it."

Hades rolled his eyes, but felt a grin creeping onto his face; Demeter was beginning to sound a lot like their mother. Annoying as it could be sometimes, it was good to know that some things would never change. He'd had enough alterations done to his life as of late.

The two siblings continued walking along the stone path of the gardens toward the Olympus Throne Room. Demeter chattered animatedly about some new herb she was creating that would do wonders for insomniacs and Hades listened intently, as it sounded like something he could definitely use. This was one of the rare times the two would be immersed in a civil conversation, and for once, almost everything was as it should be.

However, many people had no idea how much their lives were about to be set aflame.

* * *

The Lord of the Underworld pushed open the doors of the throne room, ready to get on with all the madness so he could leave as soon as possible.

He was very surprised to see that only the rest of his siblings occupied their places.

"I thought it would be best if we made this decision as to what we should do by ourselves," said Zeus, as if reading Hades thoughts and answering the question he had intended to ask.

The eldest of the Big Three gave the King of the Gods a skeptical look, but took a seat in his temporary throne nonetheless, albeit reluctantly. A familiar feeling was stirring in his chest. It was the same feeling he got whenever he knew that he wasn't going to like what Zeus was about to say.

Zeus ran a finger along his master bolt, causing tendrils of electricity to spark off, "After much consideration, Poseidon and I have decided that this issue is one we should not handle directly."

Hades glowered at his youngest brother, cross because Zeus had apparently decided to do nothing after all.

"It appears that this is a battle not meant for us to fight," the sky god continued, "yet, we can help the cause to rid these monsters as much as we can."

"And just what, exactly," Hestia questioned, catching almost everyone off guard, "has caused you to make this decision?"

Zeus said nothing, but glanced at Hera. She was dressed in a shimmering white gown and had her hair piled atop her head, looking as royal and proud as ever. Yet, something wasn't quite right. She was looking down at her tightly clasped hands, obviously trying not to make eye contact with anyone. It was like she was worried about something, almost like she was scared.

And that troubled Hades.

"I've been having dreams," Hera spoke in a quiet voice, still not looking up, "I…can't tell you what they are. All I can say is if we fight these creatures on our own, the gods won't be unified like they should…"

Demeter's face twisted into a nervous expression, "But, if we don't fight the monsters, who will?"

Zeus smirked, "I was just getting to that Demeter." He sat up straighter in his throne and smiled at them all as if he were about to share the greatest secret ever, "Who better to fight monsters than half-bloods?"

Hades snapped. His brother had been pushing his luck up till now, but this was the last straw!

He shot up from his throne, eyes burning like hot cinders, "YOU WISH TO SEND IN CHILDREN TO DO THIS?! ARE YOU MAD?! DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA HOW **DANGEROUS** THIS IS?! YOU WOULD BE SETTING THEM UP FOR THE SLAUGHTER! I WON'T ALLOW THIS!"

Zeus raised his brow and his smirk grew, "Temper, temper, Hades. You never let me finish what I was saying. Plus, I never knew you had such a soft spot for children."

"That has nothing to do with this," the sharpness in his tone caused everyone to flinch.

"Whatever you say, brother. Besides, you shouldn't be straining yourself too much, considering your _fragile condition_…perhaps you should sit back down."

Hades crossed his arms, "I'd rather stand."

Zeus frowned, the Lord of the Underworld finally getting under his skin, "Have it your way." He cleared his throat, "True, I do want half-bloods, but not the half-baked kind. We all know that as a demigod grows older, their powers grow stronger. I'm sure you all remember the incidents regarding a **few** **certain someone's**...never mind."

"What are you saying, Zeus?" Hestia questioned warily.

The King of the Gods smiled, "I want full-grown half-bloods, adults to specify. There are quite a few out in the world, if I remember correctly. What I want is for them to help lead this operation and to train the younger ones to fight better. I want all that are alive." Zeus glanced at Hades, "**All** that are alive."

Hades felt as though someone had suddenly placed a large block of ice in his stomach, he was so filled with worry that he didn't hear his brother bid everyone a good night and what the date of the next meeting was. He didn't pay any mind to his siblings leaving, Demeter looking at him with a worried expression, or that he had lowered himself back into his seat.

He finally realized what Zeus meant by _all_…

Nico di Angelo, his son, the boy who grew into the most powerful demigod to ever exist; much stronger than Jackson and Zeus' two children combined.

He was also the only half-blood to escape from being under the watchful eye on the gods, though he had very good reasons for going through so much trouble to do so. Nico had vanished from their grid, not one person knowing what he'd made of himself, though nobody doubted that he was now someone who was just as powerful in the mortal world as he was in the world of the gods.

He wasn't dead, that was for sure. Hades confirmed it at every Solstice meeting. But whenever you brought up his name, it always set the Olympians and those who once knew Nico on edge. He was a great friend and a good person, someone worth looking up to. Someone who younger half-bloods would say they wanted to be just like him when they grew up, though he would encourage them to just be themselves.

Not knowing Nico's whereabouts was killing people, some more than others.

But Hades hurt most of all, for it was partially his fault that Nico had run off. He may have only been fractionally responsible, yet Hades blamed himself entirely. He'd searched for Nico for years, wanting nothing more than to apologize and have back his only son. To show that he truly cared for the boy.

Unfortunately, his attempts to find his son all failed. He couldn't even get a lead on Nico. Now, he would no longer be able to be a part of his son's life, to see what he would become. The only closure he had was knowing Nico was still alive…but it just wasn't enough.

"Hades," Demeter tried yet again to pull her brother out of his trance like state. This time it worked. Hades ran his hands through his hair and groaned.

"I think I'm going to be sick," he muttered.

His sister placed a hand on his shoulder, trying her best to comfort him, "Don't worry too much Hades, it'll all turn out fine in the end, you'll see." But even Demeter wasn't too sure, for she knew why her brother was as troubled as he was. Hades' troubling situation with Nico was a lot more than him just running away.

"I don't know, Demeter."

The Harvest Goddess pulled Hades to his feet, "You should go home and get some rest, I think we could all use some sleep right about now. I'll tell Persephone you said yes about our idea, she'll be so thrilled!"

Hades smiled, appreciative that his sister was trying to lift his spirits, "Thank you, Demeter, and I think I will go home and retire."

She nodded, and as Hades went off toward a nearby shadow, she called after him, "I bet if we all try hard enough this, we'll find Nico this time. Wouldn't that be great?"

Hades looked back at her from over his shoulder, "As much as we would love that to happen, it is also something I fear about."

And with that, he stepped into the shadow, traveling back to his dark realm.

* * *

Hades tried to fall asleep that night, but found that he could not. He kept tossing and turning, contemplating the thought about Nico being found.

Demeter was right, it would be great. So many people missed him, and he would be a great asset in the battles against the monsters.

But at the same time, it would be dangerous.

For Nico had something that Zeus wanted; something he wanted badly. So much the King of the Gods wanted this, that he wouldn't hesitate to hurt the people Nico cared about to get it since he couldn't hurt the Son of Hades.

The Lord of the Underworld suddenly remembered all the events leading up to the big finale in which Nico obtained what Zeus wanted. It had been an amazing experience, being able to watch his son grow from it had been the best part. So many things had happened and so many emotions were felt, and for the first time in his life Hades knew what it was like to be a father.

But, oh, how he wished he could go back and change so many things, especially the way he had treated his son. He had pushed Nico too hard, caused him too much grief. If only he could apologize.

Suddenly, amongst all his angst, Hades tried to remember the title Nico had earned after getting that much valued "item". It was something catchy and he chuckled, remembering how Zeus' boy first officially hailed him the title. How he'd raised Nico's arm and had gotten all of Olympus to cheer for him, it was a great night up till the end, but that was another story.

Hades tried harder to remember the name. What was it? He began to feel himself drifting off and then it came to him.

'_Ah, yes. Now I remember,' _ Hades said the name to himself before falling into the first peaceful slumber he'd had in ages, the name that Nico had earned the hard way. The reason Zeus was after him…

…

_Nico di Angelo, the Boy who Swallowed Time…_

* * *

"_From the experiences of your past with the opportunities of your present you have the power to create a picture of your future." - Shubhanshu Tiwari_

* * *

_I hope you all enjoyed the second chapter, thank you for reading. Please give me some feedback, feel free to ask questions, and review, and I'll see you all again next chapter._

_~Fantasila~_


	3. Summoned

Disclaimer: I do not own _Percy Jackson and the Olympians_.

_Thank you all who were interested enough to read this, especially to those who either reviewed, subscribed, or both, especially DarkLove12489 and ChristieLaurenn._

_A quick foreword, there will be a flashback toward the end of this chapter. The rest of them should have flashbacks too. Flashback text will be cut off from the rest of the chapter and be italicized; you'll be able to tell. Some chapters may be flashbacks alone; I'll let you know when that happens._

_I'm not going to use years in any dates if I can help it, because this story will be based off my own timeline._

_Now, enough of me rambling, let's begin._

Percy stared at the envelope in his hands, closed shut with a golden seal. He'd found it on the dresser, the letter having suddenly appeared out of thin air.

There was no return address, nor was there a stamp.

Only the words _'Percy and Annabeth Jackson' _inscribed on the front, written in a gold color to match the seal.

He knew where it was from, that much was obvious. But despite the letter's origin, he couldn't bring himself to open it. No matter how elegant the envelope appeared to be, Percy knew that the message was anything but good.

Percy and Annabeth, as well as a good majority of other adult half-bloods, had known about the monster outbreak since the day it happened. They'd also anticipated that it would only be a matter of time before they would be called upon by the gods.

The bedroom door swung open and a little girl came running in, dark curls bouncing with every step.

"Daddy, you have to help me!" She let out a shriek-like giggle and bounded towards her father, "Hide me! They're after me!"

Percy smiled and set the letter down, his worries temporarily forgotten. He bent down on one knee and scooped up his youngest daughter, tossing her into the air and earning himself another squeal, "And just who is after you, Sarah?"

His oldest daughter came in, and Percy's question was answered. She was glaring at her younger sister, which was something that was done on a regular basis so Percy wasn't very surprised.

What did surprise him was that Monica was covered in bright orange paint.

She pointed at Sarah with a trembling finger, "Look what she did!"

Before Percy could respond or do anything, Sarah squirmed out of his arms, squeezed past Monica, and took off down the stairs with her older sister at her heels. He could hear both the girls laughing and shouting, and Percy couldn't help but chuckle.

Annabeth and Monica had been redecorating Monica's room and today they were painting the walls. Of course, he knew something like this would happen when you have two kids whose godly powers were either just beginning to develop or wanted to use them any chance they got.

Percy's eyes trailed back to the letter that was sitting on the dresser and the smile left his face. With Monica and Sarah downstairs and most likely getting paint on every doorknob and piece of furniture in the house, now would be a good time to talk to Annabeth.

He picked up the envelope, resisting every urge to tear it to bits, and headed in the direction of Monica's room. Percy found Annabeth standing in the middle of the room staring at the ceiling. He glanced up to see what his wife was looking at and felt another smile spread across his lips.

The roof of Monica's bedroom was covered in spots of orange.

Percy turned his attention back to Annabeth, "How did –?"

She lifted up a hand and shook her head, "I don't even know."

Percy further assessed the damage his two girls had caused. Two of the walls had a smooth coat of a creamy orange while the other two had both large and small splatters of the same color on them. Trays and buckets of paints had been tipped over; spilling paint onto the plastic floor covering they had spread out earlier that morning.

He couldn't help but laugh a bit and Annabeth glared at him. "This is your fault, you know."

Percy chuckled again and went over to her. He wrapped his arms around her from behind and rested his chin on her shoulder, "And how, exactly, is this my fault?"

"They get their ability to control liquids from you."

He grinned and kissed Annabeth on the cheek, "That doesn't mean this is _my_ fault."

The daughter of Athena turned around to look at him, "Percy, what's wrong?"

"What makes you think something's wrong?"

"I can see it in your eyes."

The son of Poseidon gave up trying to mask his emotions and sighed. He held up the letter in his hands for her to see, "I found this in our room."

Annabeth's eyes widened, "Please tell me that's not what I think it is." Percy didn't say anything and Annabeth frowned, "Well, say something Percy."

"But you told me not to tell you."

She rolled her eyes but couldn't help smiling, "Just open it."

Percy broke the seal and took out the piece of paper inside the envelope. Annabeth watched as his eyes scanned over the words and narrowed with each sentence. After a few minutes of silence, he handed the paper off to her and crossed his arms.

"They want us at Olympus by tomorrow," Percy grumbled.

Annabeth's jaw went slack, "Tomorrow! But we only got the notice today!"

"You know how the gods are; the only schedules that matter are theirs."

Before she could say something, Monica and Sarah came barreling into the room. Both girls were out of breath and grinning from ear to ear. Sarah immediately ran over to Annabeth and hid behind her legs, but Monica stopped in the doorframe.

"What's going on?" The smile was gone from her face and her green eyes were filled with worry.

Percy and Annabeth exchanged glances. She may have only been 10, but Monica was smart enough to know when something seriously bad was happening.

Annabeth sighed and rested her hand atop Sarah's head, "Nothing's wrong, it's just your father and I have some very important news for you."

Percy's eyebrow quirked up, "We do?" His wife glared at him until he finally caught on, "Oh! Yes, we do!" He tickled Sarah from behind Annabeth and lifted her into the air again, causing the little girl to squeal, "And we will be happy to tell you it after lunch."

Monica leaned against the wall, "But what **is** for lunch?"

The son of Poseidon glanced at Annabeth. She shrugged and smiled, "Why don't we go out for Chinese –"

Her children and husband all cheered and made a beeline for the door, but the daughter of Athena wasn't quite done talking.

"– _after_ we clean this room."

The cheers turned to groans and Annabeth couldn't help but chuckle, she felt so blessed to have a family like them. They were all so close. And no matter what the gods were going to say or do tomorrow, nothing would break them apart.

_**June: 15 years ago**_

_Nico heaved a great sigh before turning over onto his back. _

_It had been the first day of camp and everyone was in a good mood. Campers were currently outside, gathered around the very first fire of the summer, singing songs and having a good time. The scent of roasted marshmallows mixed with fresh pine filled the air and laughter echoed throughout the camp._

…_And Nico hated it all._

_Now, he was happy to be back and really was looking forward to a peaceful year, but he just didn't feel quite right._

_He'd been feeling pretty lousy for the past few weeks and almost everything set him off. For example: one moment he'd be full of energy and the next he'd desperately need to rest, sometimes his appetite would be uncontrollable and sometimes the mere sight of food would make him nauseous. _

_He was irritable, short of temper, and tired. Nico felt great and then pathetic, would sleep past lunch and then not sleep at all, __**and**__ be at the top of his game and then have no game at all._

_He didn't know what was wrong with him._

_Nico considered going to Percy or Zeke, but would always feel too embarrassed. This wasn't serious as much as it was annoying._

_At least…he thought it wasn't._

_A knock sounded off his door and Nico was torn from his thoughts. He moaned and covered his face with a pillow. He wasn't in the mood to talk to anyone. Whoever was at the door knocked again, this time much louder than before._

"_C'mon, Nico, we know you're in there! Open up!"_

"_Go away," was his only reply. He could tell that two people were there, being able to feel people's souls did have its perks. And judging by their power, it was most likely Zeke and Percy. Ever since meeting each other near the end of last summer, the two had become inseparable. Heck, the son of Zeus even went to the same school as Percy. They had been since both were freshmen; Zeke kind of knew he was a demigod but didn't know about camp._

"_Nico, this is important. Please open the door."_

_Yep, it was definitely the dynamic duo. And since they sounded serious, he decided to see what was up. Nico groggily got up from his bed and opened the door. He regretted doing so immediately when his two cousins grabbed him by the arms and dragged him in the direction of the Big House._

_Nico started kicking and tried to get out of their grip, but that only made them hold on tighter, "Put me down!"_

_Zeke flipped his dirty blonde hair, "No can do, half-pint. Chiron needs to talk to us."_

"_I don't care, now let me go!"_

_Percy sighed, "Nico, whatever he has to say is important."_

"_Still not caring," Nico felt his feet begin to drag along something hard and looked down. They were already on the porch of the Big House. Percy let go of his youngest cousin and went in, followed by Zeke who gave Nico a firm push through the door. He glared at the son of Zeus but followed Percy nonetheless._

_They eventually came to a table where Chiron sat reading a thick novel. He glanced up from the pages and smiled at the trio, "Ah, I see you've found Nico. Won't you all sit down?" Nico took the seat farthest from everyone and folded his arms across his chest, scowling at the floor the whole time. Chiron's eyebrows knit with worry and he turned to Zeke and Percy, "Is Mr. di Angelo alright?"_

_Percy cast a sad look in Nico's direction, "We don't know, he's been acting funny all day."_

_The Trainer of Heroes nodded but decided not to press the matter, "I see. Well, I bet you're wondering why I called you three here. The reason I need to talk to you concerns a half-blood, a rather powerful one that we located about a month ago."_

"_Wait, if you discovered 'em a month ago, why aren't they here?" Zeke's eyes held immense amounts of curiosity and he leaned forward in his seat._

"_That's why I need you three. You see, the girl is quite…slippery. We've sent in three satyrs to retrieve her and she manages to get out from under their noses each time they find her," Chiron folded his hands together on top of the table, "It's very important that we get this girl here as soon as possible, which is why I'm sending you boys to go retrieve her."_

_Percy's eyes narrowed slightly, "What's so special about this one girl?"_

"_Oh yes, I was getting to that. The reason she's so special is because she…knows more than a demigod should. The girl knows what she is and who her parent is."_

_Zeke's brow rose, "And her godly parent is…"_

"_Hecate."_

_Nobody said anything for the longest time. There hadn't been a child of Hecate at Camp Half-Blood since…ever._

_Chiron glanced at each of the boys, "I need you all to be very cautious around the girl. The satyrs have informed me that she knows how to use her magic well, __**very**__ well. Please try not to hurt her as well. That is all."_

_Percy stood from his chair, "We'll bring her here Chiron, no problem."_

_Zeke stood as well and slung an arm across Percy's shoulder, "Yeah, you can count on us…by the way when do we need to leave?"_

_Chiron opened his book and flipped to the correct page, "Tonight. I suggest you go pack"_

_Percy and Zeke left, laughing and joking the whole way about a 'road trip'. Nico sighed and slowly got up from his chair. He was not looking forward to this, not at all. _

_He wasn't in the mood to drive for hours just to get some rogue half-blood. He didn't care who this girl was, Nico didn't have the energy to go get her. He didn't __**want**__ to. If she wanted to be free and not get the proper training to defend herself from monsters that was fine with him. She wasn't important to Nico…_

…_but she __**would**__ be._

"_There are no mistakes. The events we bring upon ourselves, no matter how unpleasant, are necessary in order to learn what we need to learn; whatever steps we take, they're necessary to reach the places we've chosen to go." - Richard Bach_

_Thanks to everyone who took the time to read, and I hope you all enjoyed it. Feel free to review or comment, the encourage me to write faster. Stay tuned for the next chapter._

_~Fantasila~_


	4. Existence

Disclaimer: I do not own _Percy Jackson and the Olympians_.

_I appreciate all the views and subscriptions, they make me feel accomplished._

_However, I only got two reviews (special shout out to ihavenoideawhattocallmyself and DarkLove12489). Come now, I know you all can do better than that. For me, please._

_Since begging is unbecoming, I'll get to the story._

_Hope you all like._

_**June: 15 years ago**_

_Nico lay alone under one of the many trees in the park. His eyes were closed and his breathing was steady. To any normal person, it would look like he was sleeping._

_Unfortunately, that wasn't the case._

_The son of Hades had been looking for the daughter of Hecate when a piercing headache had stopped his search. Nico made the decision to take a break, considering his strange symptoms had gotten worse._

_It all started when the plane took off. Yes, the plane. Since Chiron wanted this half-blood at camp as soon as possible, he'd gotten special permission from Zeus so that Percy and Nico could enter his domain without any problems. Apparently, his consent only meant that he wouldn't blast them out of the sky. Percy was fine, being the Savior of Olympus and all, but Nico had been airsick the entire time. He was now firmly convinced that Zeus hated him, though he should have been smart enough not to get on a plane with a full stomach._

_After that, his overall health began to deteriorate. He barely had enough strength to get off the plane, let alone look for the girl. He'd wanted to help Percy and Zeke find her, but his cousins forced him to stay back at their camp site and rest. _

_That was two days ago._

_Nico was finally well enough to do his part…or so he thought. This headache was so bad that he was beginning to see stars. He hadn't eaten since yesterday and his powers…_

_Well, they weren't exactly working._

_It was now difficult to raise the dead and he didn't have much control over shadows. Everything else he had power over wasn't effective either. It was then Nico swallowed his pride and decided to tell Percy and Zeke sometime during their little trip. Throwing up was one thing, but not being able to use your demigod abilities was terrifying._

_Nico's headache had subsided and he was about to get up and continue his search when he heard a giggle._

"_You're not from around here, are you?"_

_He bolted upright and looked around. There was no one around him or on the opposite side of the tree trunk, so where had that voice come from?_

'_Oh, great, now I'm delusional,' Nico thought as he messaged his temples._

_He considered leaving and going back to the camp when he heard the chime-like giggle again._

"_Up here."_

_Nico tilted his head upward and found the source of the laughter and words. There, sitting on one of the tree's lower branches, was a girl about his age. She was smiling down at him with a kind expression that made Nico feel somewhat warm inside…and he didn't like it._

"_So, where are you from?" She swung her legs back and forth in a carefree manner._

_Nico closed his eyes and lay back down, ignoring the question. He heard a thump next to him and cracked one eye open. The girl had jumped down from the tree and was now looking over him. Nico had a better view of her features and couldn't help but think they were strange. _

_She had light cocoa colored skin, and Nico could tell she was African-American. However, he wasn't quite sure about everything else. Her hair was black and shiny, pulled back into a pony tail of silky, loose curls. Part of her face was covered with a large amount of loose hair that dangled over Nico's face, but he could make out enough of her facial features. She was definitely his age, but could pass for either older or younger. _

_She was pretty, but what caught him the most were her eyes._

_They were a lustrous blue. Not striking like Thalia's or sky blue like Zeke's, but more of a glowing sapphire color. They reminded him greatly of the precious gemstone and he couldn't help but stare. They sparkled and had little specks of different colors of blue. He had never seen anyone with eyes like hers._

_He felt his insides leap and that was what snapped him out of his trance. Nobody…__**nobody**__…had ever affected him like this before, and Nico was determined not to like her._

_The girl's eyebrows scrunched up in concern, "Are you alright?"_

"_I will be when you leave," he mumbled. Nico was beginning to feel his temper rise and he didn't feel like controlling it._

"_I'm sorry, were you trying to sleep?"_

"_No."_

"_Then what's-"_

"_Will you__** please**__ go away?" Nico had never liked being fussed over, especially by someone he didn't know._

_The girl pursed her lips and narrowed her eyes. For a moment, Nico felt somewhat afraid. The determination in her eyes was startling. She continued to glare at him, "Not until you tell me what's wrong."_

_Nico glared back, "Nothing's wrong."_

"_You're lying."_

_He rolled his eyes, "Oh, am I?"_

"_Yes, because your aura is out of sync."_

_He blinked, caught off guard by her statement. "Excuse me?"_

"_Your aura, it's the power that radiates off of every half-blood. If you can see them, it helps to tell how balanced and strong one's magic is." _

_She waved a hand over his form and Nico felt a tingling sensation run over his body. He would have been suspicious, but he was still stunned that she had known he was a demigod._

"_You're a godling all right, son of Hades too." She looked Nico in the eye, "Don't look so surprised, I've never seen powers as dark as yours."_

_Nico tried to speak, but no words would come out. __**Who was this chic?**_

"_I'd also consider getting some help; you're going to need it very soon." _

"_Huh?" He sat up, baffled more than he had been their entire conversation. She giggled again at his confused expression and scooted closer to him, causing the nausea in his stomach to be replaced with butterflies. _

_Her expression turned serious, "Well, your powers are unstable. They probably aren't working correctly and you must be feeling pretty lousy. If you don't get some help soon, you won't have control over your abilities and it will be dangerous. You might hurt someone or yourself and -"_

_Nico glared and shifted so that he was farther from the girl, "I'm not unstable. I have plenty of control over my powers."_

_The girl's eyes expressed concern, but that only made him angrier. "Nico, please listen to me. I just want to help-"_

"_I don't need your help; I don't need __**anyone's**__ help," Nico scowled, "I'd never hurt anyone, __**ever!**__ There's nothing wrong with me, __**I have control**__!"_

"_Nico, please I didn't mean it like that," she reached out to touch him, to try to calm him, but he stood up abruptly._

"_**Who are you?**__ How do you know my name, how do you know all that stuff about me?" _

_He drew his sword and pointed it at her, but she didn't flinch. She didn't even move. Any normal person might be scared right about now, but not this girl. She just kept looking at him with those blue eyes and that concerned expression, which only fueled Nico's temper. He put the sharp tip of his sword on her throat._

"_Who are you? __**Tell me!"**_

_Before the girl could respond, Nico heard shouting. He turned around, sword still at the girl's throat, and saw Zeke running towards them._

"_Nico, don't let her get away! Grab her, put a tracking spell on her, do __**something**__!"_

_Everything suddenly clicked; he knew who this girl was._

_Nico looked back at his captive, who was smiling up at him with her hands in her lap. _

"_You…You're…"_

"_Finally caught on, have you?" She stood up and extended her hand, "Acacia Chastity Earhart, daughter of Hecate. It was nice talking to you Nico, but I should get going-"_

_Nico summoned every ounce of strength he had into a strong tracking spell. He willed a string of shadows to wrap around Acacia's leg, imbedding it with his power so that he would be able to relocate it. And if he found the shadow, he would find the Hecate kid with it._

_Acacia looked down at her leg and quirked a brow up, "You know a tracking spell, cool." She then glanced up at Nico and smiled, "I wonder what else you can do..." She spoke more to herself, and with a curious and inspired glint in her eye, which made him wary._

_Nico lowered his sword and looked back. Zeke was getting closer; he would be where they were in a matter of seconds. It was a good thing too, that spell had taken a lot out of him. He looked back at Acacia and found her looking at him with a sad expression and her hand still outstretched._

"_I'm real sorry, Nico, but I have to do this."_

_Her hand glowed bright green and Nico understood too late; Acacia wasn't trying holding out her hand to be friendly, she was cursing him._

_Before the son of Hades could move, the glow from Acacia's hand shot off it and hit Nico square in the chest. The force from it knocked Nico down and he suddenly didn't feel so good. His entire body felt sluggish, almost like there was something numbing his strength ._

"_I'm so__**, so **__sorry, but I'm only trying to help you." And with that, her entire form shimmered and she vanished._

_Nico sat on the ground, dumbfounded, staring at the spot Acacia had once been in. 'What does she mean by help me,' he thought, 'what's going to happen?'_

_He was broken by his thoughts when a certain son of Zeus shook his shoulder._

"_Hey, Nico, are you alright?! What happened?!"_

_Nico blinked and stood, his mind felt fuzzy, "I…I don't know-"_

_Zeke's eyes turned stormy, which happened whenever he got mad. "You don't know?! YOU DON'T KNOW?!" He grabbed Nico by the shoulders and turned his younger cousin to where he was facing him, "WHY DIDN'T YOU CAPTURE HER, SHE WAS __**RIGHT THERE!"**_

"_What's going on?" Percy appeared behind Zeke and was looking at both of his cousins with concern, Nico more so than Zeke._

_Zeke crossed his arms and scowled at the son of Hades, "Nico here let the Hecate girl get away."_

_Percy's eyes narrowed and he glanced at Nico, "He __**what**__?"_

_Nico took a few steps back, Percy's and Zeke's anger could be intimidating and it didn't help that he was half their size._

"_I-I'm sorry," he stuttered, "she caught me off guard and I didn't know who she was! I haven't been feeling so good, she hit me with some spell, and-"_

"_Whoa, whoa, whoa, stop right there!" Zeke was holding up his hands and his eyes were wide, "She __**cursed**__ you?!"_

_Nico mentally slapped himself; he'd meant to leave that part out. He was causing enough problems for his cousins; there was no reason to add to them. "M-maybe, but-"_

_Zeke suddenly reached forward and grabbed Nico by the shirt. He pulled his younger cousin in front of him and began to look him up and down, "You don't feel faint or anything, do you? Does anything hurt, how's your vision, can you walk in a straight line?_

"_Zeke, stop that!" Percy yanked Nico out of Zeke's grasp, "Don't overwhelm him."_

_The son of Zeus looked at the ground and shoved his hands into his pocket, "Sorry."_

_Percy turned his attention back to the small, dark boy beside him and pressed the back of his hand to Nico's forehead. The son of Hades hated all this attention and had to resist the urge to bite his cousin's hand._

_The son of Poseidon looked worried, "Gods, Nico. You're burning up."_

_Nico swatted Percy's hand off his head, "I'm fine."_

_Percy crossed his arms, "No, you're not fine. You have a fever, and who knows what else that kid's curse is going to do to you."_

"_He's right, Nico. You don't look so good." Zeke glanced at Percy, "We should take him back to camp."_

"_What? No!" Nico tried to get out of their reach, but wasn't fast enough. Zeke grabbed him by the shoulder and forced Nico to walk. He didn't have the energy to struggle, so Nico reluctantly let Zeke help him back to their camp._

"_Please don't take me back there," he pleaded, "we have to find her. I can help."_

"_You put that shadow-tracker thing on her, that's more than I could have done." Zeke ruffled Nico's hair and smiled down at the younger boy, "Besides, Percy and I can look for her tonight. You're tired and need some rest; you'll probably get more sleep with us gone, anyway."_

_Sleep sounded like an excellent idea to Nico, he just hoped he could get some; especially when Acacia's words kept repeating over and over again in his mind._

_She'd said something about helping him. For what, exactly, he wasn't sure._

"_There's no thunder, no lightning Just a gentle breeze To warn you that something Will bring you to your knees." - Ronnie James Dio_

_Okay, so that's another chapter completed. Thanks for reading and I hope you review. They give me insight on how to write better and make me feel good about my work._

_~Fantasila~_


	5. Power Surge

Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson and the Olympians.

_Thank you everyone who read my story. I ended September with a bang and began October with a great start. All of you who took the time to read, review, and favorite/follow are spectacular and remind me that people out there like the products of my imagination._

_I hope you all like this next chapter, it will give you an insight on what will happen in the future (or past, I suppose)._

_Now sit back, relax, and enjoy._

_**June: 15 years ago**_

_They'd left him here. _

_They'd left him._

_Percy and Zeke had left him at their camp, completely alone, at night._

_Okay, so it wasn't that bad. It was the concept of the situation that bothered Nico._

_So far in their quest, he'd pretty much been useless. He was too weak to do anything of actual importance, and his powers had practically gone kaput. _

_Nico groaned and snuggled further into his sleeping bag. This night was uncharacteristically freezing, cold enough to the point where he could see his breath. He was beginning to lose feeling in his fingers, only adding to Nico's irritation._

_But what annoyed him the most was that Acacia's warning kept repeating over and over again in his head._

'…_**If you don't get some help soon, you won't have control over your abilities and it will be dangerous...'**_

'…_**won't have control…'**_

'…_**dangerous…'**_

_Nico began to recklessly make his way out of his sleeping bag, grumbling under his breath the entire time. _

_He had control, he always had control. Just because they weren't working right, did not mean he didn't have control over his powers. _

_He trudged over to the fire pit, where there were only embers burning now. Zeke had lit a small fire before he left with Percy and it had begun to go out about an hour ago. Nico sat down in front of the pit and stretched out his hand. In a matter of seconds, a fire was burning once again. _

_Nico smirked and pulled his knees up to his chest. So his powers did still work __**and**__ he had control. His smirk turned into a grimace and he scowled. Of course he had control, and there was no reason for some mad sorceress to lead him to think otherwise._

_The flames in the pit glowed brighter and grew larger, feeding off Nico the energy from his anger._

_A strange burning sensation was suddenly present in his stomach, but he was too upset to notice._

'_Why does everyone think I can't do things,' he thought sadly, 'is it because I'm smaller then I should be? Is it because I'm younger than Percy and Zeke?'_

_He became bitter at that thought and the burning in his stomach grew hotter. _

_Nico was constantly being referred to as Percy and Zeke's "baby cousin", and if it wasn't that name then it was "Hades' kid". It annoyed him to no end, and as of late he'd felt crosser toward it than usual. _

'_Why do people feel the need to compare me to them all the time? I'm my own person,' his fists clenched as he remembered all the conversations he'd overheard where campers would say how they felt bad for him because he wasn't as great as Zeke and Percy, or how he was destined to grow up to be some dictator._

'_Well, of course I'm not as __**amazing**__ as they are,' Nico thought. 'I'm younger than they are and practically half their size. I hate how everyone thinks I should be exactly like them. I hate being prejudiced just because of who my dad is. I hate how everyone thinks I'm a freak and that I'm evil. They tell me that's it's all in my head, but they don't know what it's like to be looked at as if you're some psychopath! Nobody understands! It's not fair that I don't get respect, or admiration, or even __**friends**__ like the others do. What makes me less a hero then they are? It's not fair, it's not fair, it's not –"_

_Nico cried out in pain and clutched his midsection. The burning inside of him was white hot, almost as if someone had lit a fire in his system. He gritted his teeth and blinked back the tears that were beginning to well up._

_Oh, gods, it hurt._

_It hurt more than any pain he had ever felt._

_He tried to stand up, tried to get back to his tent to lie down, but he fell onto his hands and knees. He took a deep breath and attempted to relax; panicking wouldn't do him any good. _

_Nico closed his eyes and concentrated on what he needed to do…_

_That was when he felt the heat on his face._

_It was the same heat he felt when he first lit the fire with his powers to warm himself from the cold. Only it was much, much hotter._

_His eyes snapped toward the fire pit and he jumped back, causing his stomach to clench in more pain. _

_The flames from the fire he'd lit had fed off his temper, causing them to grow the more his anger grew. The fire had spread out to at least 10 times its original size. The rocks that had surrounded the now engulfed pit were consumed by the flames, scorched black and beginning to crack apart. The fire's height surpassed the tree tops, causing some of them to catch sparks and be set aflame. _

_The sheer size and power of the fire scared Nico, but what frightened him the most was the color of the inferno._

_The flames were blue, not the normal red-orange color it had once been_

_They'd occasionally flicker to different hues, but always hold a bit of the same eerie, ghost like blue._

_Nico blinked rapidly, trying to comprehend what was happening. _

_Had he done this?_

_No, that was impossible. He wasn't strong enough to cause something like this indirectly, not even close. But whether he was really capable or not was something he had to worry about later, Nico currently had to extinguish the flames before they burnt the entire forest down._

_He stretched out his hands and tried to call them off, but nothing happened. He tried a second time, only to get the same results._

_The burning in his stomach intensified and Nico doubled over; more panicked now than he had been this whole powers fiasco._

_He didn't have control._

_It was just like Acacia had said, and now people's lives were in danger because of him. He'd been too busy wallowing in his misery to notice what he was doing, and now he was paying for it along with innocent people in the town near the forest._

_Nico was desperate to do something now, he couldn't harm all those mortals, even if he didn't mean to in the first place. He grabbed his hair and began to pull as hard as possible when he realized there was nothing he could do. There was no way to contact Percy and Zeke, no way to get help, and no way for him to stop the flames._

_The fire had spread quickly from one tree to the next, causing more and more smoke to fill the air. It was becoming difficult for Nico to breath and his eyes and lungs stung._

"_Stop…" He called out toward the flames feebly, trying to get them to die down. When they didn't obey, Nico began to feel his temper rise…and something else; something like determination. He refused to let something like control issues beat him at something this important. There were innocent people with lives that still needed living at stake and he refused to lose._

_He looked directly toward the fire, which was now larger than before, and screamed, "__**STOP!**__"_

_With one final roar, the fire went out, including the ones on the trees. The night air was once again cold and the only thing to show that there were once out of control flames were the scorched tree tops and the large black circle in the middle of the camp site._

_Nico's breathing was ragged and constricted, and the scorching ache inside his gut had still not subsided. He'd expected to feel relieved, but all he felt was fear._

_That was his doing._

_That was his power…power he had no control over._

_Where had all that power come from? He didn't have any strength like that before. _

_Nico was definitely scared. He had been fine with the power he had before all this, it had been enough. He'd always wondered what it would be like to have more, but now that he had it, he was terrified._

_Nico felt his body start shaking, and it wasn't from the cold._

_He was dangerous, just like Acacia had said he would be. How she knew was beyond him._

_But he had to find her now, she had answers. If she knew what was going on then she could help him; she had to. _

_If there were more of these…these power surges and he had no control, then nobody was safe from him._

…

_When Zeke and Percy got back just as the sun was starting to rise, they found Nico still staring at where the fire pit once was, surrounded by charred trees and bushes, shivering and paler than he ever had been. They'd asked what'd happened, but Nico didn't say anything._

_What could he say?_

"_The measure of a man is what he does with power." ― Plato_

_Well, another chapter is finished. I hope you liked it and please do review, they help me to see what you think is going to happen and your attitude toward characters and such. They help me to better understand how to make things work and put them together._

_I hope you all enjoyed and thanks for taking the time to read,_

_~Fantasila~_


	6. Worry

Disclaimer: I do not own _Percy Jackson and the Olympians_.

_I suppose I should start off by apologizing for not updating in what feels like years. I've been really busy with school and other things in life and everything just took over my attention and time._

_This will be a short chapter, just to create some bridges in the plot._

_I hope you all enjoy this chapter and I promise to do my best to update sooner._

* * *

Annabeth turned the page of her book and adjusted the position of her legs under the blanket.

Nights like these were rare. The girls were sleeping soundly in their beds and poor Percy was out cold in their own. After an intense evening of packing, making hotel reservations, and convincing Sarah that only taking a few of her stuffed animals with her wouldn't offend the rest, it was no wonder he went to bed so early.

She was tired as well, but Annabeth had found it impossible to fall asleep.

Her anxiety about tomorrow was too great and the still quiet of the night wasn't helping. It had given her time to think, and to be alone thinking was a dangerous thing.

She'd thought about who would be there, who _wouldn't _be there, what was going to happen, and what they were there for.

Annabeth already had an idea about what the gods needed from them, yet she hoped and prayed that she was wrong. Unfortunately, that was the only logical reason everyone was being summoned. Olympus didn't exactly throw annual family reunions.

She closed her book shut and rubbed the bridge of her nose, giving herself a headache wouldn't do any good.

Her cell phone on the table began to buzz. Annabeth picked it up and looked at the caller ID, smiling instantly when she saw the name. Answering, she made sure to keep her voice low so no one would wake up.

"Don't you think it's a bit late to be calling, Zeke?"

"Annabeth, you don't sound happy to hear from me at all. Honestly, I'm wounded."

She chuckled, "I'm sure you'll survive."

"Of course I will, I'm **me**, but what about you? You sound exhausted."

Annabeth felt herself deflate a bit and sighed, was it really that obvious? "Oh, it's nothing really. I guess I'm just tired from all the rushing around that went on today."

She heard Zeke shift on the other end of the line, "I'm guessing you got one of those letters too, huh?"

"Yeah…" Annabeth felt all the emotions she'd been holding in ever since they got the letter that afternoon begin to build up again. She pinched the bridge of her nose and took a deep breath, trying to avoid overthinking everything.

"Annabeth, you okay?" Zeke's voice sounded from the phone, his tone etched with concern.

"Yes, it's just…I'm worried."

"Worried? About what?" He heard Annabeth sigh before she began to explain.

"Well, the gods obviously want our help with their little pest problem, and you and Percy are some most powerful half-bloods. Because of that, they're going to have you more involved than others."

"So?"

"It's just…if things get dangerous–"

"Hey, Annabeth, don't stress yourself out over all this. We've gone up against much worse, and we've been through enough to know what to do in almost every situation possible," Zeke's voice was sincere and made her relax a bit. She heard him chuckle, "You remember: 'There are lots of bizarre places out there and even more bizarre scenarios, might as well prepare for all of them. It's actually kind of fun'."

The quote was so familiar and brought back so many memories that Annabeth Jackson couldn't help but laugh a bit, "You guys were prepared alright."

"There, you see. No need to worry too much. We've got this, and we always have and we always will."

"I know, but…" Annabeth took a deep breath and sighed, "Promise me you'll keep your guard up, something about all this feels, I don't know…off."

"I promise, and I know how you feel. Something definitely isn't right." Zeke yawned, "I should probably go, tomorrow's going to be a long day."

Annabeth rolled her eyes, "If anything, it'll be interesting. See you tomorrow."

"Oh, and Annabeth, you just let me worry about all this doomsday mess, 'kay? If there's one thing I know, it's that children of Athena overthink everything. So don't go off and fry your brain panicking over something that hasn't even happened yet."

"I do not overthink everything!"

"Yeah, right, I bet you organize your grocery list based on the location of each isle."

"…I've only done that twice."

"Hah! I'm right, you're wrong!"

"I'm not wrong about anything; you were only making an observation!"

Zeke snorted, "_Sure_."

Annabeth groaned, "You're not going to be like this tomorrow, are you?"

"No promises," he said and then snickered when she began to mutter into the phone, "Night, Annabeth."

"Goodnight, Zeke."

* * *

_**June: 15 years ago**_

_Though people thought otherwise, Zeke could be very intuitive where his friends were concerned._

_That didn't exclude his younger cousin, Nico, in the least._

_Something was definitely up with the kid, he just didn't know what. Sure, it may look like he just had some bug that would go away on its own, but Zeke was positive that wasn't it._

"_Y'know," Percy said from his spot under a tree, "if you keep staring at him like that, I'm going to start thinking you're trying to make him disappear."_

_Zeke blinked. He didn't realize that he'd been staring. His mind did tend to wander, though. He turned to Percy, "Hey, Aqualad, mind if I ask you something?"_

_Percy gave Zeke a brief withering look, obviously a bit miffed about being called Aqualad, "Shoot."_

"_What do think's bothering Nico?"_

_The son of Poseidon glanced at the undersized boy who lay sprawled out in his little corner of their campsite, immersed in a restless sleep evident by his tossing and turning._

_Percy bit his lip, something he did whenever he was worried, "I don't know, but whatever it is, I wish he would tell us."_

_Zeke looked back over at Nico, who was now lying on his back with his hands positioned over his head. He would have looked peaceful, but the twisted expression on his face suggested discomfort. _

"_You think he's sick?"_

_Percy shrugged, "Maybe, but I don't think that's it. You saw how he was last night, the guy looked traumatized."_

"_Well, he just looks __**awful**__ now," Zeke cast another glance at Nico. Unfortunately, everything they had just said was true. They came back that night to find their younger cousin on his knees in front of a dark crater staring blankly into it. He was paler than they had ever seen him and was shaking so violently Zeke almost thought he was vibrating. When they tried to talk to him, all Nico did was shake his head and say nothing was wrong._

_Zeke could still see the son of Hades terrified expression._

_He wasn't much better today. After Percy and Zeke's interrogation of him, Nico stumbled over to his sleeping bag and fell asleep so quickly it was scary. He was still asleep, but probably wouldn't be well rested when he woke up. Zeke wasn't sure when Nico had last eaten, not that it really mattered since the kid couldn't really keep anything down, which meant that he was dehydrated too._

_The son of Zeus scratched the back of his head, "You think he needs a doctor?"_

_Percy sighed, "I'm sure Nico would tell us if he needed a doctor."_

"_Doctor or not, the kid still needs help."_

"_You're right, but we can't really do anything until we know what's wrong. We'll step in when we have to."_

_Zeke snorted and smirked, "Since when did you get so sensible?"_

"_It comes with experience," Percy paused when he earned a skeptical look from his cousin closest in age, "and I've been hanging around Annabeth a lot."_

_The son of Zeus settled back in his foldout chair and smiled, "Thought so."_

"_Hey, I can be pretty smart."_

_Zeke opened his mouth to engage in a nice secession of friendly banter when Nico groaned and sat up groggily. He rubbed his eyes and stretched, then examined his surroundings as if he wasn't quite sure where he was._

"_Gods, what time is it?"_

"_Around three," Percy answered with his attention fully on Nico._

_He moaned, "Ugh. Was I really asleep that long?"_

"_Yep, you rested up?"_

"_No," he answered flatly, "I kept waking up every hour and then falling back asleep, never really got any rest." _

_Zeke opened his mouth to ask why that was, but Nico cut him off._

"_Oh, and I know where Acacia is."_

_Percy stood up, his relaxation forgotten, "Really, where?"_

_The son of Hades jerked a thumb backwards, "About 600 yards in that direction."_

"_Thanks kid," Zeke ran two fingers over his belt buckle and an assortment of knives appeared on the belt, "you coming this time?" When he didn't get a response, he looked up to see what was wrong, "Nico?"_

_The person in question had apparently fallen back asleep; he was now lying on his stomach with his head resting comfortably on his pillow. _

"_I guess he was still tired," Zeke said to himself as he began to walk after Percy, who had already started heading in the direction Nico had instructed._

_Both had no idea how off they were about their younger cousin._

* * *

"_Compassion is not weakness, and concern for the unfortunate is not socialism." – Hubert H. Humphrey_

* * *

_So, Happy New Year you guys! This is the first chapter of 2013, made ready especially for you._

_I hope you all enjoyed it and my resolution for all my readers is to update more often with bigger and better chapters._

_Ready for all that this year will bring,_

_~Fantasila~_


	7. Preparation

Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson and the Olympians.

_Sorry for not updating immediately, I had finals in school._

_All I have to say is that I will keep my promises and here is your chapter._

_Hope you enjoy._

* * *

_**June: 15 years ago**_

_Zeke and Percy had successfully managed to "apprehend" Miss Acacia._

_And by "apprehend", Nico meant she kind of came along willingly. _

_It annoyed him to no end, having to admit that they may have never needed to go on a manhunt to begin with. To him, it was almost as if she was mocking them, as if her "surrender" was some cruel message that they should be grateful she'd spared the three of her magic._

_Then again, maybe the lack of blood sugar was finally starting to affect his judgment._

_Whatever the case, they'd gotten her, and that was good. It was very good…_

_It was also very awkward considering Nico and Acacia currently had their eyes locked in a very intense glare exchange. Well, Nico was the one glaring. Acacia was just looking back at him with a confused, and genuinely innocent, stare. Nico's glare, however, was genuinely icy._

_He was beyond irritated. Here she was, sitting right in front of him, and was she telling him anything regarding what was wrong with him…NO. Apparently, hinting about the reason behind his current state was fine; actually __**telling**__ him must have been illegal. _

_Nico sighed and let himself slouch against the base of the tree he was sitting in front of. He would get his answers later. It was best not to stress out. That would only cause more problems, especially since it would be dark soon. Nighttime enhanced his powers, which is probably why his little power surge happened to begin with. _

_He sighed again and ran a hand through his hair, finally breaking eye contact with Acacia. She yawned and promptly curled up on the forest floor, using the messenger bag she'd been found with as a pillow. Nico closed his eyes, at least he could think about what to do with his little power control problem in peace now._

"_So, Acacia, you live around here?"_

_Nico inwardly groaned. The universe just loved to ruin his plans, didn't it? And today, it decided to ruin them in the form of Zeke._

_The person in question sat up and pushed a few loose strands of dark hair out of her face, "Yeah, in that small city just a few miles from this forest, the one you visited a few days ago. I live with my grandparents."_

_Zeke stretched in his place next to Percy, who was using Riptide to reflect sunlight onto different objects, "You like it there?"_

_Acacia smiled as if remembering a fond memory, "I love it, wouldn't want to live anywhere else."_

"_What makes it so special?" Percy questioned, not taking his eyes off the spot of light he had created on a tree trunk._

_She shrugged, "I guess the fact that I feel so at home. I mean, I know I've lived there for almost all my life, but it just has a warm, comforting feel to it. The same feeling you get when visiting your family during the holidays and whichever house you're at always smells like pastries and chocolate."_

"_Gods, that sounds heavenly," Zeke's eyes glazed over and he smiled to himself. _

_Nico rolled his eyes, fed up with all this gushy talk. "C'mon, it can't be like that all the time," he commented bitterly._

_Percy gave him a look that practically screamed for him to be nice while Acacia just sighed and offered him a small smile, "I guess not, but it's still my home."_

_The way she said that almost made Nico feel bad for being so cold…'almost' being the key word there. He was determined to steel himself against her. Nico wasn't the trusting type, but his guard was up more than usual. For some ridiculous reason, Zeke seemed to immediately take a liking to the daughter of Hecate. He was currently firing pointless questions at her like there was no tomorrow. Even Percy seemed to be warming up to her, which annoyed Nico more than anything._

_He wasn't quite sure why he was so set on disliking Acacia…maybe it was because there was a small part of him that liked her against his will. Maybe it was because she caused a small, microscopic really, portion of him to melt whenever she spoke. Or maybe it was because whenever he looked at her, __**really**__ looked at her, a strange feeling entered his stomach that was unfamiliar and almost a cross between butterflies and nausea. _

_Nico denied all these strange feelings that were occurring. He told himself that it was related to his "illness". That was the only logical reason those things were happening to him, right?_

_Percy sensed his cousin's sudden discomfort. "Hey, Acacia, what were you doing way out here?" He tried to change the subject for Nico's sake._

"_Oh, I was just practicing."_

"_Practicing what?"_

"_Just some charms and spells, stuff like that. Out here is the only place where I can really work on my magic, someplace quiet and natural."_

"_Why's that?" Zeke questioned while twiddling his thumbs._

"_Well, magic is natural. The farther away you are from lots of things that are industrial, the better it works. Unless you're a master, then it doesn't really matter where you are, your magic works the same wherever you go." _

_Percy nodded, apparently interested in the topic, "So what are you, a master, amateur, novice...?"_

_Acacia shrugged and blushed a bit, "Can't be sure, usually others decide what you are, it's hard for a magician to answer that question themselves. But honestly, it's just hard for me to describe myself."_

_Nico actually found that understandable considering he couldn't really describe himself either. _

_What she said next he didn't understand at all._

"_Do you three have extended powers?"_

_Percy looked caught off guard, "Huh?"_

"_You know…extended powers?"_

_The boys shook their heads, even Nico, who'd been reeled in to the conversation by curiosity._

_Acacia opened her mouth to say something, but stopped herself and began to open her bag. It was made of some denim-like material and was rather worn down, but was obviously put to good use. She reached in and pulled out a very large, black, hardback book. It had intricate carvings and its spine was bound with colorful threads that seemed to shimmer in the sunlight. It definitely looked like a sorcerer's book to Nico._

_Miss Earhart flipped through the many pages in the book until she found the right one. She lay it down gently onto the grass and beckoned the others over. She pointed to the page she had flipped to, "See, extended powers: powers that allow a person to control elements and/or have other abilities that are semi-related to their own." She tilted the book so that they could get a better look, "It's all right here."_

_Zeke scratched his head, "All I see are a bunch of weird symbols."_

"_Same here," Percy squinted at the symbols, trying to make some sense of them._

_Acacia blushed again, "Oh, that's right, you guys can't read this. Sorry, sometimes I forget that others can't –"._

"_I can read it."_

_Everyone turned to look at Nico, who was sporting a rather calm expression while scanning over the different signs on the pages. He realized everyone was staring at him and looked up, glancing at everyone, "What?"_

"_You seriously understand this?" Zeke gaped at his younger cousin._

"_Yeah, can't you?"_

_Percy and Zeke shook their heads; Acacia began flipping through the rough pages of her book again. She stopped suddenly and held it up for the sons of the Big Three to see, "Nico, can you read this, just the word and definition."_

_The son of Hades gazed at the section she had picked at random…or not. Judging by the different illustrations on the pages, Nico guessed it had to do with something dark. That meant she had picked that page on purpose…_

_He then looked at the symbols. He really could understand them; something in the back of his mind seemed to translate them. It was the same thing that happened when he tried to read Greek, sometimes even Italian. _

"_Umm," Nico wasn't used to reading and wasn't very good at it, "Umbrakinesis – the power of controlling darkness with the mind."_

_He glanced at everyone a second time, a bit embarrassed that he'd revealed that he was lower than he should be when it came to his age's reading level. _

_Percy had noticed and made a mental note to get someone to help Nico read more._

_Zeke was still trying to process what Acacia had said earlier._

_And Acacia…she was deep in thought. Not everyone could read the type of inscription used in this particular book, usually only elder deities and a few of their offspring could. In half-bloods, the mortal in them usually conked it out of their abilities along with a few other things. Fortunately, Acacia had been spared of all that._

_Apparently, Nico had been too, which made Acacia wonder what __**else**__ hadn't been knocked out of him…_

"_So, you're saying that we can control more than just the basic stuff we have power over?"_

_Zeke's voice broke Acacia out of her thoughts. She blinked and answered, "Yep, it takes a lot of work and dedication, but it can be done."_

"_Well, that's all I needed to hear." Zeke leaned forward and rested his chin in his hands while balancing his elbows on his knees, "You gonna teach us or what?"_

_Acacia raised a brow, "Excuse me?"_

"_C'mon, you obviously know all the ins and outs of magic, and you wouldn't have asked us if we had extended powers unless you wanted to show us something."_

_The daughter of Hecate blushed for the third time that evening, "W-Well, I was actually just curious – and I've only studied extended powers – I mean I've always wanted to actually see them – b-but I would teach you guys everything I know. " _

_Percy smiled and chuckled a bit, "Sounds like a plan. When we get back to Camp, you can start teaching us."_

_Acacia's blush faded and she nodded, smiling at the three. Zeke glanced at Nico, who now had his arms crossed and was scowling at nothing in particular, and smirked, "Hey, half-pint, you in or what?"_

_The son of Hades huffed and looked away from the others. Zeke shrugged and looked back at Acacia, "He's in by default."_

_She smiled when she caught a glimpse of Nico rolling his eyes at Zeke's antics. Acacia couldn't help but wonder if they were like this all the time._

_A sudden loud growl was heard amongst the group. Zeke and Percy looked around as if expecting a monster to appear at any moment. After a few moments of silence and nothing happened, they both looked at each other and then at Nico. Suddenly, everything made sense, and the two started snickering._

_The boy had his arms wrapped around his stomach and his cheeks were a bright shade of pink. He was obviously trying to avoid eye contact with everyone._

_Zeke couldn't hold it in any longer and began to laugh out loud, "Well, I guess that explains the crankiness!"_

_Percy sniggered as he stood up, "C'mon, we might as well get something to eat. It's getting late and I want to check into a hotel."_

"_We're staying in a hotel?" Acacia looked at Percy curiously._

_He shrugged, "I don't see why not. We've found you, so there's really no reason to be out here anymore. Plus, I could really use a place with indoor heating. It's freezing out here at night!"_

_Acacia gave a content sigh and began to stand. Nico, on the other hand, wasn't so happy. Sure, a place with indoor plumbing and mattresses would be great, but he wasn't too thrilled about being in close quarters with the others, especially in his current condition._

_Unfortunately, there wasn't much he could do, so he reluctantly got up. Nico would go along with them, but first…_

"_Hey, Acacia…"_

_Zeke, Percy, and Acacia all stopped what they were doing to look at Nico. He was looking directly at her with a blank expression, the dark circles under his eyes only stressing his already ominous appearance._

"_Why are you so interested in extended powers and enhanced magic? I mean, why the need for more power?"_

_Nico's eyes were hard, as if challenging her to answer. Whatever answer she gave would affect how he saw her, and both of them knew it. _

_Acacia was quiet for a short moment before responding. She gave a small smile and Nico could have sworn her eyes sparkled, "There are lots of bizarre places out there and even more bizarre scenarios, might as well prepare for all of them. It's actually kind of fun."_

* * *

"_Success depends upon previous preparation, and without such preparation there is sure to be failure." – Confucius_

* * *

_Well, another chapter finished. I hope you all noticed all the little important details I put in here. They'll be important later on._

_You can expect the next chapter sometime this week._

_Thanks for reading,_

_~Fantasila~_


	8. Facade

Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson and the Olympians

_I am extremely and sincerely sorry for not updating in what feels like forever. I am going to try better to update more as soon as summer time rolls along._

* * *

The city itself was lit up like a neon light, done especially for the event. The buildings glistened gold and marble, and the plants were so green and fresh that they almost looked unreal. Music, laughter and words drifted through the air and mixed in with one another to create a symphony fit for only the grandest of parties.

It was the event of the season, maybe the next few centuries, but the facade of happiness could only mask so much of the nasty secrets and wrongdoings that were churning under the surface. A majority of the people did their best to ignore it, acting as if this were any normal social gathering. Others acted warily, appearing cool and collected while inside they feared the worst.

And a few faced the obvious secret head-on, not caring who it would upset or what fight it would cause to break out later.

Thalia Grace was one of those few. She always had been. It was pointless and somewhat naive to try and hide something that desperately needed to be addressed, especially something as important as this.

As she walked through the gilded streets of Olympus, giving an appropriate nod to whoever passed by, she couldn't help but wonder what sort of unrest the aftermath of this "party" would cause. It would be bad, that much was obvious, maybe even chaotic, but she couldn't wait to get it over with at the same time. Thalia could already feel the pint up angst and guilt threatening to take place in her heart.

This was a touchy subject, to put it lightly. And unless everyone put forth their best effort and did all they could to control themselves just to avoid one thing leading to another, there would be Hades to pay.

'Almost literally,' Thalia thought sadly as she scanned through the crowd for two specific sets of families. Just as she was beginning to feel somewhat lonesome, a small pair of arms wrapped around her from behind as much as they could.

"I found you Auntie Thalia, this means I win!" A small voice with a slight lisp cried out from behind her and the arms around her waist tightened. Thalia felt a grin appear immediately appear onto her face as she looked over her shoulder to find a bright eyed, blond haired 4-year-old looking up at her with all the adoration in the world.

"Yep, you won, Jazz." Thalia spun around and pulled her youngest niece into a tight hug, "But next time it'll be me who wins!" She blew a quick raspberry on Jasmine's cheek, which made the little girl squeal and start giggling.

"Well, that was fast."

Thalia looked up and felt herself smile even more when she saw her half-brother Zeke sauntering over with the rest of Jazz's family. She barely had enough time to register how much everyone had changed, before being hounded by her three other nieces.

Zeke couldn't help but chuckle at the sight of his usually serious sister trying to keep her balance after being attacked with hugs and senseless chatter by his daughters. He wrapped his arm around the woman next to him and gently rubbed her arm lovingly. She looked at him out of the corner of her eye and gave him a warm smile.

To anyone else, it was just a simple exchange of affections between husband and wife. But those who were close to both knew it was much more than that.

Thalia noticed the subtle gestures; even when mobbed it was hard not to see how much the two loved each other. It was nice to know that there were still couples out there who still had such genuine feelings for one another. Being a hunter usually implied that she was a skeptic on the concept of love (and she was), but the daughter of Zeus made a few exceptions every now and then.

"I was beginning to worry you all wouldn't show," Thalia hugged each of her nieces, making sure to not give one more time than the others, "but I should have known you would be fashionably late, as always."

Zeke Adams released his hold on his wife and stepped forward, a lopsided grin plastered on his face. His daughters relaxed and backed away from their aunt to make room for their father.

"You know me too well, you know that," Zeke wrapped his arms around his sister and gave her a tight hug, lifting Thalia into the air due to the rather obvious height difference. He set her down after a few moments and smirked, "plus, parking was terrible."

Thalia laughed before turning her attention to her sister-in-law, Katarina Lyn-Adams, "I still can't get over how you manage to look so nice, even after all these years, especially after having four kids."

The woman giggled and pulled her into a warm embrace, "Yeah, about that..."

The Lieutenant of Artemis halted her thoughts when she heard what Kat had said, confused before finally understanding what those words meant. Thalia let go of her brother's wife and held her out at arms length to get a better look.

Kat was wearing a rather nice semi-formal dress that reached her knees that was a lovely dark green color that complimented her eyes. It had a sash just under the bust and had only one sleeve. She looked stunning, as usual, but it wasn't the dress that caught Thalia's attention. It was the way the dress fit around her sister-in-law's midsection that did.

"By the gods, why didn't you tell me?!" Thalia's jaw went slack and she cast a shocked look in Zeke's direction.

"We wanted to surprise you," the son of Zeus was trying hard to contain his laughter. The look on her face was almost too much.

She crossed her arms and pouted, "Getting me a new bow is a surprise; this is life changing news!"

Zeke sniggered and took Kat's hand in his own, "We'd thought you'd be used to it by now." He looked at her with a playful expression, "Besides, Kat's so pretty I can barely control myself." He laughed as she swatted his arm and gave him a reprimanding look.

"Zeke, don't talk like that around the girls." Kat tried to keep a stern expression when scolding her spouse, but she could feel the corners of her lips twitching up into a smile.

"Talk like what?"

Kat rolled her eyes and Zeke saw this as the perfect opportunity to pull her in for a quick kiss. He leaned toward her and planted a quick peck on her cheek.

Well, it was more than a quick peck in Thalia's opinion. Zeke drew it out a lot longer than she thought necessary; he kept trying to catch her lips with his own. It was cute at first, but after a while it got a bit too mushy for Thalia's taste. The kids, apparently, agreed with her because they started to scrunch up their faces and gag. Jazz even went as far as to "Eww!".

Zeke sighed dramatically and stopped trying to kiss Kat. "It's a sad, sad day when a man can't show his affections to the woman he loves," he stated with a theatrical wave of his hand, "but, I will survive as long as I have my beautiful Katarina by my side."

Thalia's nieces giggled at their father's antics. She almost laughed along with them if it weren't for the nymph who suddenly appeared.

"Excuse me," she said in a rather high-pitched, timid voice, "but the gods request that the son and daughter of Zeus and the daughter of Aphrodite report to the throne room."

Kat saw the way both Thalia and Zeke scrunched up their noses after being referred to as children of Zeus. It was almost as if they had eaten something that had left a sour taste in their mouths. After a few moments of awkward silence, Kat thanked the nymph and told her she could go. The nymph, who had begun to blush because of her husband's and sister-in-law's reactions, curtsied and walked off with as much grace and speed as she could muster.

Zeke exhaled and forced a smile onto his face, "I guess that's us." He entwined his fingers with Kat's and made off in the direction of one of the few places he hated. "Might as well get it over with," he mumbled to himself.

None of the girls seemed to notice their fathers sudden change in demeanor. They were all too busy trying to talk to Thalia, who was also caught up in her own emotions. The only one who noticed how uptight he had become was Kat, who'd always been able to tell how he was really feeling.

She could feel how tense he was as he grasped her hand, almost as if he was hoping for a reason to leave right then and there. Kat gave his hand a quick squeeze and offered him a reassuring smile. "It'll be over soon, just be patient. We'll just go in, listen to what they have to say, exchange a few polite words, then leave and go home."

"You make it sound so easy."

Kat chuckled and leaned into her husband. She felt him let go of her hand so he could wrap his arm around her. "Oh, and Zeke?"

"Hm?" He looked down at her to give Kat his undivided attention.

She glanced up at him with jade green eyes, "Please don't do anything rambunctious."

He smiled, though it looked more like a grimace, "So blasting my dad with winds from the arctic tundra is a no?" He snickered as Kat hit him on the chest with the back of her hand, "Okay, I'll behave."

Kat rolled her eyes again and was about to make one of her famous sassy comments before she felt Zeke come to a halt, causing her to come to a rather jerky stop since his arm was still wrapped around her. She looked over at him, about to ask what was wrong, until she followed his gaze to see what had caused him to stop so suddenly. The family had reached the doors to the throne room.

They loomed in front of them, standing tall and foreboding. The doors shone a brilliant color of gold and bronze, greeting anyone who dared to enter them with a cold glisten and heavy presence.

Kat felt Zeke's hand tighten around her arm. He hadn't made a move to enter yet, and something told Kat that he wasn't going to. She sighed and shrugged his arm off of her before grabbing his hand and pulling him off to the side.

"Zeke, look at me." It took a minute before he finally made eye contact with her. "You have got to relax, okay? We don't need any trouble, so if you start to get angry just try to focus on something else, like the kids. Neither of us want them to get caught up in anything."

Zeke closed his eyes and rubbed the back of his neck, "I know, I know, you're right. I just hate being around **him. **I hate the way he views you and the girls, and I hate everything he's done to us and our friends." He took a deep breath before continuing, "I think the only way I can get through this without losing it is if I don't talk to him."

Kat watched her husband's attitude change as he grinned and got down on one knee in front of her. "I wonder how he'll react when he finds out that it's another girl," Zeke said as he gently rubbed his wife's baby bump.

"Who cares," she said with a shrug and a small smile, "as long as she's loved. We love her, so his opinion doesn't matter. If he can't get over himself enough to care about his **female **grandchildren, then screw him."

Zeke laughed out loud, the first real laugh Kat had heard from him in a while. He planted a kiss on her round tummy before standing up.

"The fact," he said while pulling her into a hug and burying his face in her hair, "that you aren't afraid to talk about how you really feel about the King of the Gods is one of the many, many reasons I love you so much."

* * *

_**June: 15 years ago**_

_Nico moaned into his pillow for what felt like the thousandth time that night as his stomach turned violently. Acacia placed her hand on his back and tried to rub it soothingly, but Nico shoved her hand away. He lifted his face out of the pillow long enough to shoot her a glare before curling back up under the covers._

_Zeke and Percy glanced at one another before coming to the same conclusion: their kid cousin was seriously sick, and it may have been their fault. Maybe if they had just monitored what Nico did a bit better, he wouldn't be so ill.  
_

_It had started just before dinner. _

_After getting a room at a nearby motel, the four tried to decide on a place to eat. Acacia attempted to convince the three boys to come with her to her home for dinner (she did live here after all), but Nico had been so adamant against the idea that the other two boys declined her offer. She went on by herself, more to explain her situation to her grandparents and get her things than actually eat, and left the guys to their own devices. After much debate, they decided on a rather popular buffet._

_That was when things went downhill._

_The two older sons of the Big Three noticed an abrupt change in Nico as soon as they entered the restaurant. The wooziness, nausea, and exhaustion seemed to vanish and he perked up the minute the delicious aromas passed under his nose. He stood up straighter and eyed all the food like a starved carnivore. Zeke later swore he saw Nico's eyes dilate._

_Percy and Zeke shrugged it off. They knew about their younger cousin's rather aggressive appetite and assumed he was just hungry...which turned out to be an understatement. Neither of them knew anything about his 'condition', but if they had known at that time it wouldn't have made a difference._

_Nico tried hard not to go overboard, but five minutes into the meal he eventually just came up with reasons why he **should **go overboard. __By the time they left, he ended up eating more than both Percy and Zeke, which ended up being a serious mistake. Nico doubled over and turned a sickly shade of green almost the minute they got back to their hotel, which had landed him temporary bed rest courtesy of Percy and Zeke. _

_"Why, why, **why** did I let myself get carried away?" Nico shifted onto his back, attempting to get more comfortable. He was also trying to get Acacia to stop babying him. What was her deal, anyway? He had been nothing but cold to her and yet here she was trying to make him feel better. It almost made him feel kind of guilty..._

_His stomach lurched and Nico could taste something sour and bitter in the back of his throat. He clamped a hand over his mouth and closed his eyes, trying to fight off the oncoming queasiness.  
_

_"You want some medicine or something?" Zeke eyed Nico with concern. He and Percy were watching a movie on the television, but it was kind of hard for both of them to focus when their kid cousin was sick to his stomach on their watch._

_Nico weakly shook his head, "No, it's not that bad, honest."_

_"Not that bad?" Percy spoke from his position on the second bed, "You had **nine **helpings and practically ate a whole cake. If I were you, I'd be puking my guts out."_

_"Please don't talk about puking," Nico moaned before suddenly feeling lightheaded. He was beyond tired, but couldn't fall asleep because of the terrible ache in his tummy. It seemed like sleep was out of the question that night, unless...  
_

_No._

_He wasn't going to ask **her** for help. She was nothing but annoying and he most certainly did not need any help from her._

_Nico couldn't help but glance at Acacia, who had stubbornly remained by his side. She was starting to nod off in her lounging position in the space on the bed next to him. Her eyes were starting to close and __there was a peaceful and content expression __on her face as she hugged a pillow to her chest. He thought Acacia even looked kind of cute-_

_'Whoa, Nico, get a hold of yourself,' he thought. 'Sheesh, you must be worse off than you thought.'_

_He felt his own eyes begin to shut as drowsiness began to win the battle against nausea. In a matter of minutes, Nico fell into a deep sleep._

_Maybe he should have asked Acacia for help, because his dream that night was wild._

_..._

**_When Nico next opened his eyes, he was no longer in an old hotel with his cousins and Acacia. No, he was in some large room. The walls were stone and a large fireplace burned in front of him. Two floor to ceiling windows stood facing each other on the walls opposite to each other. Long transparent drapes dangled beside each window. The ceiling itself was so high up that Nico couldn't tell where the windows began or where the roof was, when he looked up all he could see was blackness._**

**_It was cold, even though the fire was burning so strong that Nico could feel a dull warmth in his belly similar to the one that night in the forest, as if the flames were calling out to him, even in a dream. The window curtains blew softly even though there was no breeze. He could faintly make out the moon in the frosted window that looked as thought it hadn't been washed in ages. _****_The only source of light was the large fire, which only cast its glow so far into the cavernous room. _**

**_Nico didn't know where he was or why he was there. Other than himself, there was nobody else in the-_**

**_"Honestly, father, I have now lost all respect for you."_**

**_He whipped around, almost tripping over himself in the process, only to find a rather unusual sight._**

**_There was a small table with what looked to be some sort of game board sitting directly on top. On either side of the table were two chairs. And seated in those two chairs, were two men._**

**_"Out of all the possible things you could have done, that is your move?" The man on the left spoke mockingly, and Nico thought he recognized the voice._**

**_"I make every move for a reason. Just because you don't see it's importance, does not mean it isn't there." The man on the right had a hard voice, which made it clear he wasn't someone to joke around with._**

**_"What a wise thing for you to say," the other man mumbled, "but really, you choose him?"_**

**_"I didn't choose him, Fate did."_**

**_Nico had to register those last two bits of conversation twice; he thought they were talking about their game pieces. But...what they mean by 'him' and 'chosen'?_**

**_"No, seriously, I can understand you picking Jackson, or even Zeus' ridiculous son...but him?" _**

**_Nico felt his heart stop._**

**_The man on the left was holding out his arm in a gesture toward him. Both men were now looking at him, even in the dark Nico could tell._**

**_They knew he was there, even though he was only present in the form of a dream._**

**_"Come here, boy."_**

**_Nico managed to collect himself enough to know that one of them had called him forward. He took a cautious step, the iciness of the polished stone floor tingling the soles of his bare feet._**

**_"Oh, for Nyx's sake, he said COME HERE," the man on the left slowly clenched his outstretched hand into a fist. He then jerked his arm back as if to hit himself on the chest. _**

**_Nico felt an invisible force grab the collar of his shirt. He gasped as he was suddenly pulled forward, his feet lightly dragging along the floor. The force kept pulling him until he came to a halt directly in front of the table. Now that he was closer up, much more than he was comfortable with, he could see that the thing sitting on the table was a chess set. A chess set entirely made out of glass. In fact, the table and chairs were made of glass as well. He examined the chess game and was surprised to find only one of the pieces moved. One of the right sided pieces. It was a pawn, moved forward to where the bishop could be released. _**

**_"Now, this brat is the perfect example of someone you do not want as your champion." _**

**_Those harsh words broke Nico from his trance. He looked at both men, only to find he had no earthly idea who they were. Both sat with a refined air of importance and pride. Each of them wore a suit, reminding Nico that he was still in his pajamas and he felt heat rush to his cheeks. The man on the right had short, salt and pepper hair and a short beard to match. He had dark grey eyes that made it hard to look at him for too long and a stern expression. He reminded Nico of an army general._**

**_The man on the left was a different story. He had dark brown hair that fell over his eyes and a cocky demeanor. Nico couldn't make out his eyes because of the shadows that covered them, but he felt as though he knew this man._**

**_"I mean look at him," the man on the left continued, "he might as well be one of his father's skeletons."_**

**_Nico was offended, but didn't let it show. Since he had no idea who these two people were, it was best to not give them a reason to hate him._**

**_"He is young, and still has much to learn and do, but if anyone holds the potential needed for this prophecy it is him." _**

**_The son of Hades started. What prophecy? There couldn't really be another prophecy, they'd just gotten over one! Nico was about to blurt out a question when the man on the right began to shimmer. It was if his form wasn't stable. He stood, and the shimmering got worse._**

**_"I'm afraid my time here is up." He bowed his head toward the man on the left, "Son, I look forward to our game. It will indeed be exciting." He lifted his head and turned toward Nico, looking down at the small boy from his great height, "We will meet again soon, Son of Hades."_**

**_With that, the man slowly melted into the air and vanished._**

**_The man on the left's lips twisted into a sneer and the air of the room changed almost immediately. The room became colder and every shadow seemed to grow thicker. Nico felt as though he was frozen in place._**

**_"If you think," the man said with a snarl, "that I'm going to be that nice again, then you are highly mistaken."_**

**_"That was nice?" The words escaped Nico's lips before he could think._**

**_"Shut up," the man growled as he stood. Nico tried to take an instinctive step back, but found that he couldn't. The man slowly advanced toward him until he stood directly in front of the boy, "I won't take any snide comments from an insolent boy like you!"  
_**

**_He leaned forward until he was directly in Nico's face. The son of Hades still couldn't see his eyes which were still hidden by dark shadows, and he found that rather disturbing._**

**_"What makes you think that you can defeat me?" The man questioned in a sharp whisper._**

**_Nico's eyes widened, "I-I don't know-What?"_**

**_He didn't have time to react as the man grabbed him by the throat and shoved him into one of the chairs. The sound of glass scratching against stone echoed throughout the room. Nico gagged and struggled, but the man was inhumanely strong and tightened his grip. He gasped as his vision became starry._**

**_"YOU PATHETIC CHILD!" The man's voice caused the entire place to tremble, "How dare they face me against an unworthy opponent! HOW DARE THEY!" He paused as his mouth morphed into a manic smile, "I believe it's time for me to make my move."_**

**_While keeping one hand tightly wrapped around Nico's neck, he used the other to snatch up one of his own chess pieces: another pawn. He held it in front of the boy's face as if to taunt him. Nico watched in fear as the pawn slowly changed from its transparent beauty into something terrible. The glass turned black, and the pawn began to look as thought it were slowly melting. The black inky substance it had turned in to began to drip and ooze, looking nothing like a chess piece in any way, shape, or form. _**

**_Then, without a warning, the man slid the thing into the small opening of the son of Hades' mouth.  
_**

**_Whatever it was it tasted awful, and Nico could do nothing as it slipped around in his mouth for a brief second before oozing down his throat. The man finally released Nico and he began coughing and retching, trying in vain to get that thing that was now inside of him out._**

**_The man chuckled, "You poor child, there is no getting that thing out of you by yourself. It's there to stay. Slowly, it will fill you up, consuming you from the inside." The shadow finally lifted from his face and Nico could finally see his eyes._**

**_And what he saw horrified him._**

**_"And now, I am going to make you scream," a sword appeared in the man's hand and he positioned himself to strike, "and I am going to enjoy every second."_**

**_He moved with unnatural speed, plunging the blade into Nico's chest._**

_..._

_Nico awoke screaming. It was the sound of true terror, his yell causing everyone to wake up in panic._

_Percy and Zeke drew their weapons immediately, only to put them away when they saw there was no immediate threat. They dashed to their cousin's bedside in an instant, now worried out of their minds._

_Nico could feel his heart pounding in his chest and heard the rush of blood in his ears. He was sweating like crazy and couldn't seem to catch his breath. _

_"Hey. Hey! Nico!" Zeke clamped a hand down on Nico's shoulder and shook him gently, but his cousin didn't respond. His eyes were wide and he breathing sounded constricted._

_The son of Hades tried to get a grip so he could put together everything he'd just witnessed. Unfortunately, his stomach decided that it was the perfect time to be an issue. Nico slapped a hand over his mouth as he felt it lurch and churn, his dinner starting to come back up. He flung the covers off of himself, shoved his cousins out of the way, and made a mad dash for the bathroom. He barely had enough time to lock the door before falling onto his knees in front of the toilet, the impact on the tiled floor causing them to pop. Nico gagged before throwing up violently. _

_His cousins could hear him retching and they couldn't help but grimace. Acacia anxiously rubbed her hands together, wishing that she could do something.  
_

_When his stomach was finally empty and the nausea faded, Nico collapsed onto his back and groaned. He took a few deep breaths before groggily sitting up and feeling for the flush handle. He made a point to not look at the contents of his stomach, fearing that they would make him sick all over again. After pulling the handle, Nico took a few more deep breaths and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. His stomach was terribly sore, and the memories of the dream were starting to come back. He felt himself shiver after remembering all the gruesome and grim things that had happened in his sleep.  
_

_He hit the floor with the palm of his hand in frustration, realizing that one problem was leading to another. Things just seemed to be getting worse and worse with no explanation as to why all this was happening in the first place. It was crazy, and Nico wanted to believe that all this wasn't real. That it was just some messed up dream he'd had._

_But no, all demigod dreams meant something. It was one of the perks of being them..._

_Nico grabbed the counter to pull himself up, hoping to sort this out somehow, when he saw it._

_There, on the back of the hand he'd used to wipe his mouth, was a dark black smudge. It contrasted with his pale skin and looked like tar, and it had some from inside of him. __He felt his stomach start turning all over again when he realized what it was. It was that...stuff the man in his dream had put inside of him._

_"So that really happened," Nico whispered to himself. Any hope that the dream meant nothing had dissolved into thin air, and Nico felt panic and fear grip his heart. Every horrible thing he wished and prayed wasn't true was now a reality, and somehow he was in the middle of it all._

_Zeke and Percy, who were waiting outside the door, were beginning to lose their patience. The son of Poseidon shook the door handle, and when he saw that it was locked, began pounding on the door itself with his fist, "Nico, you okay? Open up." When he didn't get a response, Percy considered breaking the lock._

_Before he could do that, however, the handle jiggled and the door slowly opened to reveal a very pale, shaky Nico. He wore an indefferent expression, as if didn't know how he felt._

_Percy glanced at Zeke, who shrugged, and back at Nico, "Are you alright?"_

_Nico blinked a few times before forcing a smile onto his face, "I'm fine...just fine." _

_That was a lie, and everyone knew it. But Nico couldn't tell them the truth, no matter how much he wanted to. They didn't deserve having to face that matheir his dream again. The man who wanted him dead..._

_The man with the horrific, manic, golden eyes._

* * *

_"It turns out that an eerie type of chaos can lurk just behind a facade of order - and yet, deep inside the chaos lurks an even eerier type of order."_ - _Douglas Hostadter _

* * *

_Well, that was a pretty big chapter, in my opinion. I hope you all enjoyed it and that it made you move to the edge of your seat. Stay tuned for more._

_P.S. - do you know who Nico is so scared of?_

_~Fantasila~_


	9. Time Bomb

Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson and the Olympians

_So here's that chapter you all have been waiting for, I hope you enjoy it._

_-P.S. There will be an important author's note at the end, so be sure to read it._

_-P.P.S I looked at an actual map of the cabins, and locations are different here. So, disregard the actual map._

* * *

_**June: 15 years ago**_

_Nico wasn't quite sure why, but he really didn't like Acacia. _

_He didn't hate her, not even close; there was just something about her that made him unsettled. _

_The rather complicated feelings he had for her developed over the course of a week. _

_The week began on the day of their return. _

_Day 1 started normally. The three sons of the Big Three, along with Acacia, got back to camp pretty early in the morning. That was perfectly alright with Nico, he could sneak away to his cabin unnoticed. He felt terrible and wasn't in any mood to make up some excuse for his poor health._

_After taking a short nap, he forced himself to get up and go train, hoping to blow off some of the unstable energy he could feel building up inside of himself again. When he got to the Arena, Nico saw something that really bothered him. _

_There, standing in the middle, surrounded by Ares campers, was Acacia._

_His first instinct was to defend and protect, which was new for him. Usually if he saw someone getting into a skirmish, he would generally ignore it. But this time, he had his hand on his sword's hilt before he had finished processing the scene. It turns out the Ares kids were just teaching her how to use a sword._

_He considered leaving, since every time he was around her bad things seemed to happen. However, Nico didn't want a repeat of __**those**__ nights so he forced himself to stick around. He had just finished hacking his third training dummy to pieces when excited shouting filled the Arena. He whipped around, fully prepared to tell whoever was shouting to shut it because he hated it when people made a racket when he was tired. That is, until he saw the first thing that began to make him feel funny around her._

_Acacia was in a one-on-one fight with one of the toughest sons of Ares in the entire camp. The cabin itself was cheering them on, some waving their fists in the air while others hollered and whooped. Most of the others kids in the Arena had joined in and a circle of people were beginning to form around the dueling pair. In one swift and achingly short motion, Acacia disarmed the boy who was at least triple her size. _

_Nico's intended words died a slow and painful death in his throat, settling into the fresh grave that was his stomach and churning together with the black gunk that was still inside of him. He felt himself start to get angry; angry at something he couldn't quite explain. He slowly turned back around to finish off the dummy, determined to relax and burn off some steam, but things only got worse._

_"-and you've never used a sword before?"_

_Nico's ears perked up at those words. All the commotion had calmed down and he could clearly hear every bit of that statement._

_"Well, yeah, I guess." If Acacia hadn't been blushing before when everyone was surrounding her, she most certainly was now. Attention wasn't something the girl was used to or even liked. In fact, she borderline hated it. "I usually just use magic and spells, so I don't really need a sword, just my hands...or my wand..." Her voice trailed off, getting smaller and smaller as she talked. She felt kind of stupid for mentioning the wand; she had enough trouble with the whole witch theory already._

_At the mention of the word 'wand', the entire arena burst into conversation. Campers began asking questions: was there really a wand, what did it look like, could they see it, and, much to Acacia's internal annoyance, did she know Expecto Patronum. _

_All suddenly went quiet when a small explosion rocked the arena. Everyone looked around for the cause, more curious than ready for a fight. The only thing out of place was a training dummy, which was on fire and beginning to turn a charcoal black. As people scrambled around to put it out, nobody noticed Nico stomping away looking worse than before and his hands clenched so hard his nails dug painfully into his palms._

_Acacia's sudden acceptance sickened him so much, that he couldn't stand to be in the same place with her anymore. _

_That was strike one._

_..._

_Strike two happened three days later._

_"WHAT!? NO!"_

_All activity around the Big House halted and the more skittish campers jumped. Everyone recognized the voice as Nico di Angelo's, and he sounded mad. No, not mad; he was freaking enraged. _

_Nico, who had been called into the Big House by Chiron, could feel himself getting worse and worse by the day. His health and power control were declining much faster than before. His felt awful, but the thing that was the worst was his temper; it was dangerous for others as well as himself. _

_Unfortunately, the trainer of heroes didn't know this and decided to throw some unexpected news at the rather hotheaded son of Hades._

_"The Hecate Cabin cannot be next to mine! It can't!" Nico, eyes blazing and heat coursing throughout his body screamed these words to the centaur at the top of his lungs. Being in the same place as Acacia was probably dangerous enough; having to live next to her for the rest of his summers at camp was definitely a death sentence._

"_Mr. di Angelo, mind your tone." Chiron stared at him with a stern expression, doing well to mask his shock. He had been wondering what had gotten into the young boy lately. Nico usually did a very good job at masking his emotions and displaying a neutral façade, but the trainer of heroes could always tell when something was wrong with one of his campers._

_The son of Hades huffed and sunk farther into his seat, making it clear how frustrated he was. Acacia was trying hard to disappear into the fabric of the chair next to his. She didn't know why Nico disliked her so much, only that he did. And that made it hurt even more. _

_She risked a glance at Nico and could tell how sick he was just by looking. The shadows under his eyes were so dark they looked like bruises on his pale skin, and his clothes had begun to wear him. All Acacia wanted to do was help him, but it was hard to do that when he hated being within 20 feet of her._

_"Why can't you put her next to the Aphrodite Cabin, they like her enough," Nico said with a irritated wave of his hand. _

_"Be that as it may, I believe it would be in everyone's best interest, and safety, if the Hecate Cabin was next to yours." Chiron began flipping through the pages of the book he had been reading, trying to find the spot he'd left off on. The message he was trying to send was clear: this conversation would be over soon._

_"Why? I mean, aren't all the __**goddess **__cabins supposed to be on one side."_

_Chiron glanced over the top of his novel, "So you'd rather have the Eros Cabin next to yours?" _

_A look of horror flashed across Nico's face before it was replaced with one of loathing. Judging by the twinkle in the centaur's eyes, Nico was positive he had this planned. He stood abruptly, swaying slightly when his head spun for a brief second, before storming out of the room._

_That was strike two._

_..._

_The last, and probably worst strike, happened on the seventh day itself._

_Nico's sparring class was that day, and guess who just __**had**__ to be there: Miss Acacia Chastity Earhart._

_He wasn't going to let anyone ruin this day for him, especially her. Today, he was determined to have something happen in his favor, and he was going to make that happen right there in that class._

_Now, the thing about this sparing class is that there really were no rules. It didn't matter what kind of weapon you used, if you had any magical items, or how you fought. Nope, it was all about who was strongest and who the best was._

_Nico anxiously drummed his fingers against the hilt of his sword, actually a bit excited about something for once. It was in this class that he had the opportunity to prove himself to everyone; to prove he wasn't some psychopathic weak-link. _

_"Nico, you're up."_

_He was broken out of his thoughts when Clarisse called him forward. She was in charge, more by default than anything else, and could easily spot someone eager to fight._

_As Nico made his way toward the center of the arena, he could see another person standing up and making their way to the middle as well. It was a girl, about his height, who didn't seem to have a weapon on her at all, with -_

_'No,' he thought, 'no, no, no, no!'_

_His opponent for the day was __**her**__, Acacia the witch._

_He sneered as she took her position in front of him, holding what looked like a stick. Nico couldn't help but laugh to himself. "If she thinks she's going to beat me with that, then she's crazier than I thought," he muttered to himself as he drew his own sword. The black metal glinted in the sunlight as Nico began to channel his power into it, preparing for a quick blow that would keep this short. The other people in class began whispering amongst themselves and backing up closer to the wall. _

_Shadows seemed to be getting thicker as they stretched out towards the son of Hades, who was actually oblivious to them. He had absolutely no idea of the other things he was causing._

_Clarisse eyed the shadows warily, but didn't let her nervousness show, "You two know what to do?"_

_They both nodded, not taking their eyes off of each other. Nico's glare at Acacia intensified as he raised his sword, preparing to strike with everything he had. He was confident he could win this._

_The daughter of Ares signaled for them to start...and that was when things really went downhill for Nico._

_He began slashing at his opponent with his sword, keeping his pace and going through the technique in his head. But no matter what he did, she seemed to side step every attack he threw at her, using that stupid stick to deflect all his jabs and swings. It may have looked like nothing more than a twig, but it had to be pretty strong to hold up under his blows. He honestly hadn't expected __**that**__._

_Nico decided it was time to change tactics to something a bit more...him._

_He pressed in on Acacia, causing her to back up, and then just as she was about to take another step he tripped her by willing a shadow to stretch up from the ground behind her feet._

_The young sorceress ungracefully fell backwards onto her bottom, wand toppling out of her fingers. Nico grinned, 'Perfect.' He lifted his sword, about to place it on her throat to show he was victorious...when his tummy bubbled._

_Nausea might as well have punched him in the stomach the way it came on him so hard and fast. Nico could feel the black muck churning inside him, almost as if it was writhing around in his belly all on his own. It was sickening, the way it felt, and the aggressiveness of the churning…well, if he wasn't scarred before, he most certainly was now._

_Acacia actually heard his stomach growl and watched with concern as his pale complexion turned a sickly shade of green. She noticed him gag slightly, assuming he must be having another episode as he did._

_She also noticed the sudden hiccup in his attack, and the way his sword went somewhat lax in his hands. _

_In one fast motion, Acacia grabbed her wand and fired a shot of power at Nico. She'd tried to hit him in the chest so that she wouldn't make his current condition even worse. Unfortunately, she aimed too hastily._

_Acacia hit him right in the gut._

_Nico felt something slam into his queasy stomach. He almost threw up, but thankfully the force of the hit had knocked him onto his back, so he was able to swallow it down. His dark sword toppled out of his grasp, clanging against the ground._

_The entire arena was silent except for the ringing sound of metal that was beginning to fade. Clarisse stared at the two people who were once fighting; one was lying flat on their back moaning while the other was looking at the first with an apologetic expression. "Well, finish," she commanded._

_The new girl blinked before crawling over to the son of Hades and gently placing her wand on his neck. Clarisse took note of the timid gesture and snarled. 'This won't do,' she thought._

_She stood up straighter and looked directly at Nico and Acacia, "You two, get up. And the rest of you, get out. Now!" As the other participants of the class scuttled away, she marched over to the two youngest members._

_The daughter of Ares bent down and grabbed Nico by his arm, jerking him to his feet. Acacia stood slowly with her head down, glancing at Nico from under her lashes. His face wasn't very green anymore, much to her relief. Words couldn't even begin to describe how bad she felt for what she'd done to him, and she couldn't help but wonder how much he hated her now._

"_If you two wimps are going to act like that again, then maybe you don't belong in this class," Clarisse sneered before looking directly at Acacia, "Hesitating like that on the battlefield will get you sliced to bits, and if you screw up like this again, you won't have to go to a battle, I could do it myself. Now, if don't want that to happen, then you, __**both of you**__, better get your acts together or else I'll do it for you! Are we clear?"_

_Both of the young teens nodded, one trying to keep from exploding and the other trying to become one with the wind (or just vanish, either was good). _

_Clarisse's scowl shifted from Acacia to Nico, "You know something; I honestly had high hopes for you, Corpse Breath. You've got spunk, but until you can put it to good use maybe you shouldn't be in this class."_

_The son of Hades was fuming at this point, silently trying to kill Acacia with his mind. It wasn't working. She had been nothing but a pain, until she humiliated him in front of a crowd and jeopardized his place in an advanced class he wasn't even supposed to be in. He'd worked hard to get here, and now __**IT**__ was causing his life to crumble to bits. _

"_You both need to shape up, so be here at 7 a.m. tomorrow. You better be grateful I'm taking time out of my life to do this, and we can't have either of you getting destroyed in your first real fight, you're both too valuable. We'll train for an hour every day before breakfast." _

_Clarisse began to stalk off when Nico called out, "For how long?"_

_She looked over her shoulder to glare at him, "Until I say so! And you two better not waste my time like you did today."_

_And with that, the daughter of Ares left._

_Acacia and Nico stood side-by-side in an awkward silence, neither of them moving for quite some time. The daughter of Hecate wrung her hands together and bit her lip, trying to think of how to apologize. _

"_Nico, I-" _

_His head snapped to the side, a scowl plastered on his face, "Are you having fun?"_

"…_What?"_

_The son of Hades crossed his arms, "Are you having fun __**destroying my life?**__"_

_Acacia opened and closed her mouth, the occasional gasp coming out, "I-I'm not trying to destroy your life-"_

"_Oh, oh, you're not." He quirked a brow up mockingly, "So, you're just crazy?"_

"_What is your problem?!" Acacia threw her hands into the air, throwing caution and good manners to the wind, "If this is about what just happened, then I'm sorry!"_

"'_Sorry' doesn't cut it."_

_She rolled her eyes, "Then what will, huh? Going to Chiron and __**begging**__ to have my cabin built next to the Aphrodite one? Leaving Camp Half-blood altogether?" _

_Nico scowled and bent down to pick up his abandoned sword, "Well, it depends: if you're begging, will you be on your knees?" When Acacia scoffed and looked off to the side, he knew he struck a nerve and smirked as he sheathed his weapon, "But, if you __**are**__ leaving, then I'll sure as Hades help you pack."_

_She looked back at him with a glower that almost made him take a step back. He really hated to admit it, but this daughter of Hecate could be kind of scary if she wanted to._

"_If you honestly think," she said while taking a stride forward, "that I'm going to do either of those things then __**you're **__the crazy one." _

"_Then let me tell you something you __**are **__going to do." Nico's glare hardened as he stepped toward Acacia to where their faces were only inches apart, "Stay away from me, got it? I've got enough weird in my life already, and I don't even need you in it at all."_

"_I just want to help you!"_

"_Who are you? Wendy the Good Little Witch?"_

"_Then that makes you Casper."_

_He made a low growling sound in the back of his throat as he ran his hands through his hair and pulled at it, "Just stay away from me!"_

_Acacia's bottom lip stuck out a bit in a defiant pout before she smiled this sickly sweet smile and said, "I'll do whatever I please." _

_Nico felt what little composure he had left slipping away his temper flared and heat coursed through his veins._

_Out of every person he knew (dead, alive, or immortal), Nico had never met anyone so frustrating, so infuriating, so…so…GAH! How did she manage to get under his skin so badly she practically made him itch? How? What made her so "special" that he felt like this? He didn't __**feel, **__at least not like this._

_The person in question watched in silent triumph as Nico's eyes blazed. But her success was short lived when he suddenly fell onto his knees while clutching his head. She opened her mouth to ask what was wrong, when the weirdest thing happened._

_The ground started shaking._

_It was small at first, before it escalated into a full out earthquake._

_Acacia fell as the arena rocked and everything practically fell into chaos. Racks of weapons fell, scattering swords and spears everywhere. Cracks formed in the walls as they began to crumble apart. She could hear people screaming and calling out for each other. Glancing back up at Nico, she began to slowly crawl towards him._

_She knew he was doing this; his aura might as well have been sparking. Nico was still in the same position, even when Acacia finally made it over and placed her hands on his head gently._

_Even through the extreme pain that was splitting his skull, he wanted to yell at her for touching him. But his head hurt too much for Nico to even open his eyes._

_The last thing he heard was Acacia mumble an apology before losing consciousness. The ground stopped quaking as Nico collapsed onto the floor._

…

_Strike Three._

_He was out._

* * *

"_It kills me to lose. If I'm a troublemaker, and I don't think that my temper makes me one, then it's because I can't stand losing. That's the way I am about winning, all I ever wanted to do was finish first." – Jackie Robinson_

* * *

_Okay, another chapter up and done. So on to my note._

_This entire shebang is going to be a five part series as following:_

_Nico di Angelo & the Great Prophecy: The Oracle's Chest_

_Nico di Angelo & the Great Prophecy: The Dragon King_

_Nico di Angelo & the Great Prophecy: Breaking Death_

_Nico di Angelo & the Great Prophecy: The House of Spirits_

_Nico di Angelo & the Great Prophecy: The Champion_

_And, an epilogue story with just the gang and their lives w/ family._

_Personally, I'm really looking forward to burying myself under all this work I'm going to put into writing this summer. However, don't expect immediate updates because I'm taking an online honors class this summer to get ahead for high school._

_Also, how would you all like it if I made a Facebook/Twitter page for the series? Review with your opinion._

_Hope you enjoyed this chapter, there will be many more as you can see. _

_Happy dreaming and scheming,_

_~Fantasila~_


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